After Sunset
by twiharder2
Summary: This is the Twilight Saga continued after BD, a 'T' rated version of 'Sunset Riders' with updates and a more tasteful treatment of the material. Canon/BxE
1. Attack

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**Prologue**:

It is 6 years since the Volturi failed to battle the Cullens at the baseball field. Edward and Bella have been raising Renesmee while attending Dartmouth. Jacob stays with them to help and protect, but also allows Renesmee to home school him.

Carlisle and the rest of the family have remained in Forks leading relatively easy, low key lives. But recently, Alice has been getting visions she doesn't understand and they are making her ill. Edward and Carlisle have been trying to help her, communicating long distance. Finally they decide it wouldn't hurt to have Alice visit New Hampshire for a while, theorizing that perhaps the problem is externally located in Forks.

The Cullen Mansion in New Hampshire is just as large as the Cullen Family Mansion in Forks and just as secluded. This house has been in the 'family' for decades, Alice and Jasper have their 'regular' suite, Renesmee occupies Rosalie's room on the same floor. Bella and Edward have been living in Carlisle and Esme's suite on the top floor.

It is the Friday before St. Valentine's Day. A day Edward always looks forward to because Bella allows him to spoil her in honor of the holiday. This year, Edward has planned to drive her to a mountain ski resort where he's reserved a private Chalet…

* * *

**Attack**

"I don't know, Jazz. She just looked so…devastated." Alice stared out the window of the 747 airliner into the dusk falling over the tarmac.

"It's the only thing to do, darlin'. You know you can't go on like this. Edward's the only one who might be able to help." Jasper whispered reassuringly into her ear, his breath was like a soothing tonic to her.

"But the look on Mom's face was just…" she was shaking her head slowly back and forth as if trying to banish the memory.

"Esme will be alright, Carlisle will keep her safe and Rosalie will keep her occupied until we get back. You have to focus now on yourself … on getting better." Jasper traced the line of her cheek with his fingertip, emphasizing the dark purple hue of the skin surrounding her eyes, black with hunger.

She lifted her chin to smile weakly back at him as she felt his calm wash over her in a fresh wave of concern. "You know that Edward's not the only one who can help. I may need..." her voice choked off.

"They're family, Alice. Of course they'll help, you know they will…"

"No, Jazz. I don't. I can't _see_, I can't know. Being blind like this, is frightening. I'm scared silly."

"You know, it's like that all the time for the rest of us…" Jasper smiled back at her.

"It's a hard life," she sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. His cool hand on her forehead helped the headache a little bit. She breathed deeply, trying to relax as much as she could as the plane lifted off from SeaTac Airport.

* * *

"Aw, c'mon Nessie, when am I ever gonna need to know this stuff?" Jacob pleaded as he stepped back from the chalkboard where Renesmee had just finished putting up a basic problem in Calculus. The large and handsome library they studied together in took up half of the second floor of the mansion. The Cullen library was as well stocked as any library in New England. Not that it mattered anymore, now that the internet had overtaken printed material. But Nessie's father was extremely old fashioned, and insisted on the power of paper.

She turned to him slapping her hands together, dusting the chalk off of her fingers, "That's what you said about Geometry too, remember?" She had hoped the chalkboard would help Jake with the learning process, he was not too keen on computers.

"OK, baby. I got the spatial relationships between math and carpentry, it helps knowing. I get it. But this? This stuff is crazy…"

"If we're ever going to be able to discuss scientific methodology, you need to know this 'crazy stuff'," she winked back at him slyly, teasing him with her smile, the tilt of her head. She put her finger lightly underneath his chin lifting his eyes to hers.

Jacob took in a deep breath as her touch sent a physical shock through him like never before. He stood there silently taking in her beauty, her bottomless brown eyes, her long thick mahogany curls, her pale, flawless skin. So very much like her mother, a little taller perhaps, a little rounder and yet, even more appealing, somehow. His heartbeat began to speed up and the electric shock of her touch was still coursing through every part of him. He swallowed hard and took a step backward, retreating from her warily.

Renesmee's eyes narrowed for an instant, her face contorted into a look of hurt and confusion. "What's wrong, Jake?"

He took another slow step away from her, his heart racing in his chest. _Get a grip on yourself, she's only six and a half years old_, he told himself. But even as he gazed at her he knew this was no six year old he'd ever known… In fact, Nessie was _not_ a human six year old, he reminded himself as he gazed at her standing before him. Her body more resembled a young woman of sixteen years than a child of six. Suddenly he realized there was the hint of a new scent on his tongue, something so faint, only he could've detected it with his attuned sense of smell. Something he remembered from long ago... blood, _her _blood. But she wasn't hurt, she couldn't be cut… his confusion lasted only seconds, deep in his core he realized what was going on, she didn't even know it herself, yet. He looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, her very proximity singed every molecule of his body, "Nessie, I…"

She wrinkled her face into a frown of concern, "What?" she stepped toward him, reaching for his face with both hands "Are you alright? You look…"

In that instant, Jacob was overcome by her scent, his eyes went black with desire. He was moving forward then, closing the space between them, pulling her against himself gently by her waist. Jake stared into her eyes while she held his face between her hands, examining him as if looking for signs of illness. Images of Charlie when he caught a cold last year, a dying little girl Carlisle was treating in the hospital when Nessie had visited him there one day, and Sue Clearwater when she had accidentally burnt her hand in the kitchen while making dinner last Christmas, danced before his eyes as she flashed through them quickly changing from one to the other in a continuous cycle as she worried.

Slowly, as if in slow motion, his face fell towards hers. She looked deeply into his eyes, only understanding at the last moment before their lips met. Her protest was only an instant of surprise and instinctual hesitation. Jake pulled back slightly, barely touching his lips to hers so their breath intermingled and washed over both of their faces as they exhaled together.

Renesmee's hands were still on his face. Suddenly images of him holding her hand, picking her up, hugging her, touching her in every loving, caring way flew through his mind as she sifted them looking for anything that could fit what she was feeling when the last image of her father planting a passionate kiss on Bella imbedded itself with finality and he felt her pull on his cheeks. Moaning in exultation, he covered her mouth with his instantly. Their bodies pressed tightly to each other, they swayed together with the passion of love's first kiss, all else forgotten. Time lost all meaning as they fell deeper and deeper into each others arms. They didn't hear the approach of swift footsteps, or the whooshing air of an opening door.

"Excuse me."

Renesmee was startled by the nearness of the familiar voice and Jacob responded to her momentary distress instantly releasing her and turning toward the sound, defiant, ready for battle.

"What's going on here, guys?" Edward asked lightly, turning to look Jacob in the face, one eyebrow raised.

Realizing the inappropriateness of his stance, Jake relaxed and his expression changed quickly from fierce to abashed, "Nothing," he cleared his throat, "Nessie was, ah, just trying to explain the, uh, usefulness of calculus." _Nessie's not a baby anymore, she's, she's… a woman…she's menstruating!_

"Really?" Edward's tone clearly conveyed his annoyance at the answer(s).

"Really, Dad. We were just about to knock off for today anyway," Nessie started to turn away from her father, but he quickly reached out to wrap his arm around her shoulders. Not only foiling her attempt to escape, his motion caused her to awkwardly stumble backwards into his supporting grip.

"That's good, because I have something I'd like to talk to you about, young lady," Edward said as he firmly guided her toward the library door. Looking over his shoulder at Jacob he said, "Stay here, it'll be your turn, in a minute."

Jacob grimaced as he nodded assent, acknowledging the threat.

_C'mon Dad, are you going to be a Neanderthal about this?_

"If I am, it's certainly my right. You're my only child and I'm not going to stand by and watch while you mangle your future in utter ignorance."

_What are you talking about? It was only a kiss_

"Today it was only a kiss. But you need to understand much that we haven't had the heart to impress upon you yet, Nessie. We love you and we want the best for you, sweetheart. Please be patient and allow us to help you as you take this step into womanhood."

_What in the world do you mean? Womanhood?_

Edward opened the left half of the double doors before them that led to Esme's Suite. Bella stood there, a vision of pale and perfect beauty, expectantly smiling at her daughter. "Come in darling, it seems we have a few things to discuss…"

Edward gently pushed his daughter forward and closed the door of the bedroom suite behind her as he turned and headed back down the stairs toward the library…

Jacob looked up warily as Edward opened the door and approached him.

_Did you, did you…tell her?_

"She's with her mother upstairs. I told Bella what was going on before I left her to come here and interrupt the two of you."

_I, I didn't know, I mean I didn't expect… she really caught me by surprise…_

"Apparently," Edward moved past him to sit at the table in front of the now forgotten chalk board, "So things have to change again, Jacob. What do you intend to do now?" he motioned for Jacob to have a seat at the table across from him.

_Well, gee… I suppose it's time to ask her to marry me, see if she'll have me, don't you think?_

"No. I don't – and I don't think you're _thinking _either! You're jumping the gun, Jacob. Renesmee's body may have matured, but in many ways, she's still a child. You need to go slower, for her sake."

_Well, then, what about a promise ring – a sort of pre-engagement? _

"Fine, if Renesmee agrees, a pre-engagement will be alright for now. As long as you realize how emotionally young she still is. As the man and hopefully, the master of this relationship, you must promise me to take responsibility for the two of you keeping your physical bonds chaste. I know from my personal experience in these matters, that will naturally make this the highest priority in your relationship with Nessie," Jacob stared with a blank expression at Edward, so he stressed, "this you cannot deny." Realizing Jacob was still looking at him in confusion, Edward continued, "I know that _you, of all people,_ know the importance of having _special medical options_ in place before you consummate your relationship. Understand?"

_You mean that you think Nessie and I might have problems like…?_

"I mean that there's never been a couple like you and Nessie before, and we can't be sure what physical consequences the two of you are going to face."

Jacob hung his head in despair and sank into the chair Edward had indicated, _You don't really think it's going to be as rough as_… his head was shaking at his memory of the horror show that was Renesmee's birth.

"We don't _know_, Jake. All I'm saying is you need to go slow here. Have you thought about any formal education for her and for you?"

_Well, if Nessie is done with her growing spurts, I guess we can consider enrolling somewhere. I'm sure she's going to be bored out of her mind with high school, though. Does she look old enough for college?_

Edward smiled, "Yes, I think we can enroll her at U. Mass under their advanced high school program, so do you think you could qualify to go there with her?"

_I think so, if she'll agree to tutor me._

"That's good then. Let's plan on summer school for the both of you, OK?" Edward stood up, "I'll arrange the paperwork, it won't be a problem."

_Oh God, Edward, I couldn't bear it if she has to endure that because of, because of… you know._ Jacob bowed his head and covered his face with his hands.

"Don't go there, yet Jacob. All I'm saying is go slow with her, one thing at a time," Edward zipped around the table and put his hand on Jake's shoulder, empathizing, "It's all up to you. I'm trusting you with her safety, with her life. As long as you understand how dangerous this could be for her, I know you'll be cautious."

_Oh God…_ Jacob crumbled, laying his head down on his arms crossed on the table top. Edward patted his back to comfort him, but knew there really was no comfort to give him.

* * *

Jasper had one arm around Alice's shoulders as he steered the rental car up the winding, rural road toward the Cullen Mansion. Alice rested her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed tightly in an effort to block everything out, it wasn't working. The vision kept replaying itself in bloody detail, she couldn't stop it. If vampires could get sick, this would be how she would describe it.

"How you doing, darlin'?" Jasper's lips brushed her forehead as yet another wave of calm washed over her.

"The same, I'm afraid."

"We're almost there. I wouldn't be surprised if Edward can hear us by now."

"If he can, I can't see it." Alice whimpered.

Jasper kissed her lightly again, "It's going to be alright, just try to relax." The gray, overcast skies of New Hampshire gave him some hope. At least the weather was cooperating with them. He worried silently about his soul mate. She hadn't been able to keep down any nourishment for almost a month now. Everything Carlisle had tried, failed and steadily, Alice had gotten worse. Edward would have readily come home to help, but Carlisle thought that wasn't the best approach. After all, he'd theorized that perhaps Forks or more accurately, something or someone in or around Forks, was the cause of the problem. If that were the case, it was a better idea for Alice to go to see him in New Hampshire.

Edward and Carlisle had spent countless hours on the phone, trying to isolate Alice's malady. But Alice's gift was unique and this illness was related inextricably to her gift. They were guessing, and so far, they'd been guessing wrong. If only Alice hadn't hidden her pain from them for so long, until it was no longer possible for her to hide it. Now, they weren't sure how much longer she would be able to take it. Something had to work and work fast, or the pain could drive her mad.

Jasper sighed as the long drive was suddenly lined on both sides by evenly spaced evergreens, and the wide, ornate, black metal gate across the road in the distance began to open wide as they approached.

Alice lifted her head in anticipation, "Edward hears us." She whispered.

Jasper nodded in agreement.

"_He Hears US_!" she exclaimed.

"You _see_ him?" Jasper questioned tentatively.

"Yes!" She smiled back at his relieved expression, "Thank God!" she said as she kissed Jasper quickly on the lips and nestled against his shoulder once more. He didn't see that as soon as she relaxed against him, her eyes glazed over and a new vision appeared to her.

Jasper hugged her tightly and relaxed just a little with the relief a husband feels when his long-suffering wife finally succumbs to a pain reliever. He had every confidence that Edward would be able to help coming here was definitely the right thing to do. His smile widened when he drove up to the circular driveway to find Edward and Jacob standing there, waiting to greet them. Just a few short years ago, he would never have imagined the presence of a werewolf to be a welcomed sight, but Jacob was family now. He pulled around the circle to stop the car right in front of them. He turned off the engine and pulled Alice out the driver's side door with him. They flitted to the other side of the car and were instantly being hugged and punched and generally made welcome at home.

"Hey Bro! It's about time!" Edward laughed.

"Yeah, what'd it take us? Maybe half an hour to get here from the Airport?" Jasper looked at Alice.

Grinning back she gave Edward a smug look, "It would have been half that if I had my Porsche here."

"Well, dog, looks like life in the country is treating you well!" Jasper mused.

Jacob patted his flat stomach, "Yeah, some things never change, Jazz…especially you. What did you rent here?" Jacob looked around them to check out the new Mustang convertible.

Alice shrugged, "It's the best they could do on short notice. The only thing it has in common with my Porsche is the color." They all laughed and headed inside.

No sooner had the front door closed than a voice rang from the upstairs suite, "Auntie Alice!" Jacob felt a slight breeze of air stir around him and then saw Bella already in Alice's arms while he heard Nessie's footfalls still on the stairs but not very far behind. Soon, the girls were twirling each other around in joy at their reunion and the guys watched, enjoying their glee. Especially Jasper, who hadn't felt this good since Bella had left Forks with Edward.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here, Alice! I've missed you sooo much!" Bella crooned.

"Me too," Alice agreed heartily.

Once the hugging and touching toned down, Bella looked at Alice with worried eyes, "You don't look so good, sis."

"I know. That's why we're here."

"Edward brought something home for you. I know it's not kosher, but we all think it's worth a try."

Alice's face went blank for an instant, "Oh, I don't think that…"

"I do though, Alice," Edward broke in, "Human blood has the most power to heal our kind and you need healing. There's plenty for you and Nessie and plenty more where that came from. It's all donated, no one dies, vampires heal, its all good." He smiled down at her with that compassionate but firm smile he seemed to have finally inherited from Carlisle.

Bella was already in the kitchen preparing a warm cup for Alice…

"Oh alright," she sighed in a resigned tone, "but you guys have to promise to stay very close next time we hunt, deal?" Alice was worried about her ability to abstain after partaking so freely.

"No problem, Sis." Edward promised.

Jasper hugged her reassuringly around her waist as they followed Bella into the kitchen.

"How're you doin' Jazz?" Jacob asked, well aware of Jasper's weakness when it came to the warm aroma of human blood in the air.

"I'll be fine, even better when Alice is back to her old self again." Jasper acknowledged Jacob's intent. "I could use a hunting trip sometime soon, though," he admitted. "It's been hard to find time for that lately."

Edward nodded, "I could use a hunting trip soon myself, how about you, Bella?"

"I'm fine. I'd just as soon stay with Alice for the time being. You guys go ahead, we'll be OK here," but she was at Edward's side, gazing into his eyes even as she spoke.

"We won't be long, love," he said softly, kissing the tip of her nose smiling wistfully.

Alice gave Jasper a playful push, "Go on then, you two. Leave us some handsome bucks for later."

Edward lifted his head to gaze meaningfully at Jake, "You comin?"

"Naw," Jacob slurred, "I better stay here and make sure all this blood drinkin' doesn't go to their heads." He grinned back at Edward.

"Fine," Edward said curtly, "just make sure you behave yourself."

Jacob raised his eyebrows in innocence, a wide smile on his face.

"Don't worry, Edward," Bella said in a subdued tone. "We're all fine here, you and Jazz go bag yourselves some dinner." She threw her arms around his waist, his chin was on the top of her head. Edward winked at Alice as he gave Bella one last squeeze. Then, he and Jasper were out the front door and in the Mustang, leaving a dust trail in the circular drive out front.

* * *

Edward pulled the Mustang into a rest stop that was nestled into the side of the mountain they'd been driving up. It was the only vehicle there. He and Jasper got out and sat on the picnic table put there for tourists to spread out their picnic lunches on. The air was clean and cool, but Edward knew this place had promise, a herd of deer would be by soon to drink from the mountain spring that was just around the bend up ahead. In the meantime he had questions.

"So, Jasper. Tell me what's going on with Alice that she's hiding from me." Edward pressed

_She's hiding from you? Tell me and we'll both know, Bro. I hate to hear that she didn't open up to you immediately, I thought once we got here that you would know…_

Edward was shaking his head, "No, she's deliberately hiding from me. I don't know how long she'll be able to keep it up in her weakened condition, but it saddens me to think she's spending what's left of her energy to keep me out."

_Why would she do that though? I mean we came all this way to be by you, she has all her hopes on you… _Jasper shook his head in desperation._ I don't know how much more of this she could have taken, Edward. It was driving us both insane. Thank goodness she's finally getting some relief at last._

"She did look just a bit stronger, when did she start feeling better?" Edward questioned.

_Just as soon as we got through the gates, she started 'seeing' you… didn't you know?_

"No, I was er, a little distracted. I'm glad she's better, but I have no idea why unless Carlisle was right about the influence of Forks…"

_I don't think that would account for it, she was still pretty weak on the plane and on the drive here. Like I said, she didn't actually perk up until we got onto the estate._

"Hmm," Edward stood up resolutely and clapped his hand down on Jasper's shoulder, "What you say we hit those bucks coming up on the waterfall over there?" he encouraged.

Jasper nodded and they disappeared into the cool night air.

* * *

Alice sipped the warm liquid slowly, cautiously, as if she wasn't convinced she'd be able to keep it down, although she had to admit it tasted wonderful. Her eyes were glazed over as she stood staring at the tiled kitchen floor.

Bella stood in front of her leaning unnecessarily against the kitchen counter, a worried look on her face. "You're a mess, Alice. We've been so worried…" Bella leaned over and snapped her fingers low, between Alice's eyes and the flooring.

"I'm sorry," Alice looked up at Bella and then leaned forward to gaze at Jacob and Renesmee who were watching TV in the living room around the corner, "I've been worried about you, too, Sis."

"Me?" Bella didn't keep the surprise out of her tone, "What do you mean?"

"These visions, the ones that are attacking me… in a way they're about all of us, but I believe they're mostly about you, Bella. I've been doing my best to hide it from Edward, because we all know how insanely over protective he can be and I've been afraid of what he'll do when he sees."

"Oh no, not again."

"I'm afraid so, it's the Volturi."

"But, Alice why would you hide this from the family? Don't we need to prepare…"

"No, no. If we do that, it's all over, it has to be you, just you, Bella or we're all dead. You're the only one who can successfully sneak into Volterra and get back out again. Edward will never allow you to do this alone if he finds out and if you don't, it's all over for us."

"Tell me, Alice."

"You know Aro wants me and he wants Edward. You also know he's afraid of you, but what you don't know is that even more than me and Edward, he wants you or he wants your ashes. The more time that passes, the more obsessed he becomes. It's bad enough, but Caius is goading him on constantly, hoping Aro will act and give him a chance for waging another war." Alice watched as Bella's face folded into a horrified frown.

"Does Edward know this?"

"Yes, he's always known, ever since Aro refused the battle. You're a major threat, Bella. He can't control you and that means he knows he can't control the Cullens, which, in his view, also means he's no longer in control of North America. He just won't stand for that." Alice took another small sip from her cup.

"So if this has been going on for five or more years, then, why are these visions attacking you now, Alice? What's changed?"

"Aro's acquired a new talent, his name is Peridot. He's the one attacking me, sending these visions halfway across the planet in endless wave after wave of excruciating bloody detail. Bella, he's been persuaded to serve Aro by Chelsea. Over the years, Chelsea's power has increased to such an intensity that those under her spell are virtually prisoners. It's not Peridot's idea or even his nature to behave like this. He's a virtual slave, like so many of Aro's people are. Bella, you must destroy Chelsea and free him, it's the only solution that will weaken the Volturi long enough to give us Cullens any peace."

Bella stared at Alice in complete terror, "Alice… I don't know how to… if I can do that."

"You must, Bella. Chelsea is the key, she's very old and her power over the Volturi is formidable, but she's no fighter. You can do this.

"Aro and Caius are going to visit Amun a week from this coming Tuesday. They'll take the twins, Renata, Felix and Demetri. Marcus and the rest of the guard will remain at Volterra. It will be your best chance to get to Chelsea.

"What does Aro hope to accomplish with this attack on you, Alice, do you know?"

"I think so. Aro's trying to hide his intentions from us. He's planning something he doesn't want me to see. My guess is that this visit to Amun's Coven probably has something to do with Benjamin, but he hasn't made his decision yet so I've no way to be certain of that.

"The blocking vision is always the same, but it's getting more and more powerful as Peridot becomes stronger and stronger. And as I weaken, he finds it easier and easier to assault me," Alice frowned into her cup.

"Can we warn Amun?"

Alice's face relaxed for a split second, "did Edward keep a contact number for Benjamin?"

"Of course, you know Edward."

"We could warn Tia or Benjamin, they would take us seriously. But…" Alice's face clouded over.

"What is it?"

"If we do that, Aro will be even more incensed. He'll know we interfered. Bella, if we warn them you _have_ to eliminate Chelsea, he'll use every power at his disposal to take us out. Whatever happens after we warn Amun, the Cullens and the Volturi will be enemies forever."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend…" Bella mumbled.

"What?" Alice tilted her head in a question.

"Nothing. Alice, the Volturi are already our enemies. Edward knew this before they ever came to our door with an army ready to destroy us. Exactly what is this vision he's using to attack you with?"

Alice sighed, hesitating.

"C'mon, sis. I can take it."

"All right, but you absolutely cannot tell Edward, he would try to prevent it and that would lead directly to his death, got it?" Alice stared into Bella's eyes soberly, pausing for effect as Bella nodded slowly in agreement. "It's the Volturi sneaking up on each member of our family when they are alone or vulnerable and then slaughtering them one by one over the course of time until you are the only one of us left standing, holding Renesmee's bloody, lifeless body in your arms and screaming as loudly as your voice can manage."

Bella gasped in horror, "Oh my God!"

"I don't know if these visions are in any way prophetic or not… All I do know for sure is that I can't see past them, and…" Alice leaned forward, touching her forehead to Bella's and whispered so low, not even the sensitive ears in the TV room would be able to hear, "I haven't had a single attack since we got here. Bella, are you protecting me now?"

"I suppose I am." She admitted.

"You have to stop."

"What?"

"I've seen what I needed to _see_ and now if you don't stop shielding me, they'll know where you are and I'll have led them straight to you. You have to stop protecting me now."

"No, Alice, don't be silly. If they wanted to find me there are lots of other, easier ways to do it."

"Maybe that was true, once. But not anymore. Your shield has become more powerful and subtle than even you seem to be aware of, Bella. Your loved ones here are always shielded, now. The Volturi had no way of finding you through them once you left Forks. I'm certain that's the other reason why they attacked me like this, to find out where I'd go and lead them to you."

Bella stared back at Alice as though she were looking up from the bottom of a grave. Terror set in and all her fears were centered around her family. "What do we do, Alice?"

"Well, if you don't stop shielding me, our only other choice is to run. That means we have to tell Jasper and Edward and as I said before, as far as I can see, that _never_ turns out very well for any of us."

"What if we tell them only part of what's going on?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"What if we tell Edward and Jasper only about Aro's plan to visit Amun? Let them make the decision to warn Benjamin?"

Alice nodded, slowly as her eyes glazed over. "Yes, I see where you're going. Edward will want to go back to Forks immediately."

"Only I can't go back to Forks, I have to finish up things here."

"He'll want you to stay with him…"

"But, he has to protect Renesmee, take her home with Jacob."

"Yes, but it will be hard for him to do that…" Alice countered.

"Still, I think he can be convinced, especially if..." Bella swallowed hard and whimpered as she nodded understanding, "At least finish your meal," Bella indicated the cup. Alice tilted it back and finished it with a brave face and then put it empty on the counter. Bella choked, "Sis, I'm so sorry…" then like a light switch turned off, Alice crumpled helplessly into Bella's waiting arms.

* * *

**A/N**: OK Folks, you know what to do! Please use the "**Review this Chapter**" button below. Thank you for reading!


	2. Goodbyes

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**Goodbyes**

"When did this start again?" Jasper asked in anguish as he held Alice's hand.

"Not long after you two left. She managed to finish her meal." Bella added sympathetically. She looked up at Edward and silently pulled him from Alice's bedside. "We need to talk," she whispered so silently, only Edward could hear.

Nodding in agreement, Edward gathered her to him and walked her out of the room. "She's so, so, helpless," he choked.

"Edward, let's go upstairs for a moment. Alice managed to tell me some things you need to know," Bella looked up at him with worried eyes and caressed his cheek briefly with smooth fingers.

He instantly acknowledged her urgency and they sped up to Esme's suite, closing the door softly behind them. Edward pulled her to him, hugging her gently, grateful to have her close. "Tell me," he murmured as though holding her would soften the blow of the words he instinctively knew would be painful to hear.

"Alice told me that she is being attacked by the Volturi."

"WHAT?" He grabbed Bella by her shoulders and pushed her far enough away so that he could look her in the eyes.

"Shhh," Bella threw her eyes in the direction of the others and returned her gaze to his chastising Edward's lack of discretion, "Aro has a new talent who is trying to block her from _seeing_."

"Does she know what he's trying to hide?"

Bella nodded, "She only saw it for a moment… He's going to Amun's."

Edward already had his cell phone in his hand. Bella lightly put her hand over it. "_Think_, Edward. If you do this…he's going to know."

Edward nodded in agreement, "He already knows, or he wouldn't be attacking my _sister_!" He sighed and continued softly, "Benjamin's our _friend_, Bella. They helped us…"

"You're right, of course." Bella smiled up at him bravely, "You have to call Benjamin, but after you do, you're also going to have to accept the consequences."

Edward wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close again as he held the cell phone silent in his hand, "What else did Alice tell you, Bella?"

"She told me that like it or not, the Cullens are in a cold war with the Volturi and that unless we are the winners, every one of us will die, including Renesmee." Edward tightened his hold on her, nodding as though this were not new information, but that he was acknowledging it for the first time. "She said you and I have to split up."

"No! No, Bella I can't bear it…"

She reached up to touch his face, looking sadly into his eyes, "We must, for our family's sake, for Renesmee…" Bella swallowed hard, choking on her own words. "Edward, you have to take Alice and Jasper away, the attack is much stronger here because she's so much closer to them. The family needs to be together, go back to Forks, talk to Eleazar and Carlisle, Alice will be better there. She'll be able to help more once you get her away from here."

Edward looked hesitantly at the cell phone in his hand, "Did she say how much time we'll have?"

"They're to arrive at Amun's a week from Tuesday."

Bella could hear the cell phone ringing in Edward's hand, it was Tia who answered. She listened quietly to the conversation as Edward held her to himself tightly, his cheek resting lightly on the top of her head as he spoke.

* * *

"Not _them_ again," Jacob was leaning his huge frame against the kitchen table, both palms flat against the surface, elbows locked, shoulders hunched and looking ferocious as he gazed back up at Edward through his eyebrows, allowing a deep rumble to sound in his chest.

"I knew it would only be a matter of time, but I didn't think it would be this soon," Edward said standing next to Jasper who was akimbo, obviously furious and frustrated. "We can't be divided like this. I think we should tell Carlisle to meet us at Tanya's."

"I think you're right," Jasper agreed, "It's much more easily defended than Forks."

"Wait a minute, aren't you guys forgetting one very important detail here?" Jake said bringing his full height to bear as he stood straight with an angry shove of his palms off the table's surface.

"Sorry, Jake. We're leaving the packs out of this. They don't need to suffer our quarrels."

_Fine, I'll agree to that as long as you let me take Renesmee to La Push._

"Now just a minute…"

"It doesn't matter what the Packs decide, Alice can't stay here another minute longer than necessary and we already know she doesn't do much better in Forks." Jasper said with finality, "You two do what you must, but I'm taking her to Denali, now." With that he sped out of the kitchen.

Jacob stared at the empty spot where Jasper had stood half an instant ago, "Nessie has never been to Denali."

"No, but…"

"She's at home in La Push. She's known and loved and protected there," Jacob turned slowly to Edward with a determined look on his face, "You have to admit, it would be better for her to come with me, think Edward. They won't bother her there, if they could even find her."

Edward hesitated, it was true, Nessie was warm blooded. She would do fine at Tanya's town house, but the mountain fortress wasn't heated. He looked at Jacob for a long moment, "Fine, let's ask her what she wants to do."

"Ask who?"

Both men looked quickly to the kitchen doorway, as Bella walked slowly over to Edward, encircling him in her arms.

"Nessie," Edward said, "Jacob wants to take her to La Push."

"Hmm, I see," Bella leaned her head against Edwards' chest. "She won't be awake for hours. It's hard to know what's best. She has just as big a bull's eye painted on her as the rest of us, Jake. Are you sure about this?"

"You know I am."

"It's difficult, Jacob." Edward choked out the words.

_What?_ Jake furrowed his brow in confusion.

"To admit that your closest loved ones might be better off away from you," Edward raised both arms around Bella's shoulders and hugged her tightly, "To admit that no matter how much you may want to, you can't protect them best by keeping them close."

This time it was Jake who walked over to Edward and clapped him on the shoulder, gazing at him with an understanding that had only grown through the years. _We'll protect her with our lives, every one of us…you know that._

Edward couldn't return Jacob's gaze but he agreed, silently nodding his head, "Yes, I do, but neither one of us can guarantee that will be enough to save her."

_There are no guarantees, no matter where she goes. You know that, as well as I do._

Edward finally lifted his head to look Jacob in the eye, "You're right, of course."

* * *

I can't wait to see the look on Grampa's face," Nessie said as she leaned over to take off her shoes at the airport.

"Yeah, Charlie's gonna be surprised, alright." Jacob said as he took her plastic bin of belongings and placed them on the conveyor belt. Renesmee hadn't been to see Charlie since last Christmas, when she looked more or less like a kid. The difference now, at least in Jacob's eyes, was striking. It wasn't that Charlie hadn't been shaken to his core by her rapid development before...

The airport was packed with travelers, Bella and Edward had said their goodbyes at the house. They were on their own for the very first time and Jacob was well aware of it. He never let Nessie out of his sight and had his fingertips on her as much as possible, even though the mere touch of her gave him pause, the threat they were under could not be overestimated.

"Are there shops on the concourse, do you think? I'd like to bring something for him and Granny Sue, if we have time. You know, something very New England-ish."

"Sure, baby. Anything you want, I'm sure we can find something, but let's just get through these security checks with all our stuff in tact first, OK?" Jake had his hands on her waist as they waited for their belongings to pass through the scanners. Then, he grabbed both bins in one arm and guided her toward the seats where they could put their things back together.

When they sat down, Renesmee paused to put her hand on his neck, the images of Forks and La Push raced through his head and finally settled on the house where the Clearwaters had lived for generations. "Yes, baby that's where you'll stay and I'll stay with my dad, just a stone's throw away."

When they stood up, he put her hand tenderly on Jake's face, the image of Edward and Bella locked in a passionate embrace was accompanied by a feeling of deep longing that made him shudder. Replacing their empty bins in the stack as they headed down the concourse, Jacob took her hand in his, "Please don't do that to me now Baby," he said in a hoarse whisper.

* * *

Edward pulled his Vanquish into the garage and pushed the button to close the door. The lights came on as it slid shut. Edward leaned over to kiss Bella on the cheek, "I hope you can enjoy this, I've been looking forward to it for a while now."

The drive up the mountain had been beautiful and exhilarating. Bella had quickly learned to concentrate on the scenery, not on Edward's driving. She smiled back at him, "It won't be without effort, to forget everything that's happening now to try to enjoy…" her voice trailed off as her face fell.

Edward reached over to touch his finger to her chin and lifted her face, touching his lips to hers ever so lightly, "I love you so much…"

She smiled back at him, radiating love and concern, "I know.'

He quickly darted out and around the car to open her door. Pulling her out of the car, he swept her into his arms and climbed up the stairs to the first floor landing, pushed open the door and carried her into the living room. On every horizontal surface was at least one arrangement of red roses and stephanotis. A driftwood fire blazed blue-green in the wall-sized stone fireplace, but Edward walked to the glass wall composed of several sets of sliding glass doors, opened one and stepped out onto the balcony, where he gently set her down. The sun was setting behind the mountain, sending brilliant colors from orange and yellow to red and purple against the snow.

She knew the night air would have felt freezing cold to any human, but she was suddenly warm and let the coat she'd donned for appearances slip to the floor. The lights from hundreds of other Chalets dotted the mountain already in shadow and the skiers were lit up with their individual flash lights as they gracefully slid down the slope, weaving in and out amongst each other. She gasped lightly at the beauty of Edward's world, and when she turned to him, his eyes met hers with the same awe and wonder they'd held when they shared their first kiss.

She reached up to touch his face, "I love…"

His mouth was on hers, cutting off her sentence, chasing every thought, every care out of her mind. His hands were embracing her, pulling her to him, pressing her against his body, willing her to forget every other thought.

She felt his passionate advance fill her being with desire. All she wanted was him, here, now. Whatever happened tomorrow, she never wanted to forget this night. She allowed her body to feel every part of him, willing herself to embrace every movement, every touch, every feeling he gave her. Then, as their lips parted, she realized her lullaby was being played on Edward's piano in Forks. The recording filled the living room with the familiar rich vibrations she recognized. The intricate piece would have sounded exactly the same as if he had brought the piano there and was playing it now for her himself. "If I could cry, I would right now. Everything is so beautiful, so perfect Darling, thank you so very much," Bella whispered to him in a hushed tone of wonder.

"Your happiness is my happiness," he said and then lifted her feet off the floor once more as he raced up the stairs to the bedroom loft…

* * *

Bella sighed happily as she lay sated in Edward's arms, "This never gets old. With you, it's always like the very first time. I've always felt so lucky and you've always made me so very happy. No matter what tomorrow brings…always remember how happy I was with you, my darling, promise me you will."

Edward nuzzled her neck and then pulled away from her so he could look back at her with warm eyes of liquid topaz. He recognized that look of determination, "I promise to remember how happy we make each other, always." He gathered her back to himself, wrapping his arms around her securely, "I'm going with you."

"What?"

"I'm going with you. You can't get rid of me that easily, Isabella Cullen. You're stuck with me." He held her tightly as she squirmed against him to look him in the eyes.

"Who says I'm going anywhere?

"Admit it."

"Admit what?"

"OK, don't admit it, but I'm going with you anyway."

"You are impossible, did you know that Edward?"

"So I've heard."

Then, pulling her to himself once more, he cradled her in his arms and sang sweetly in her ear until they began their love making again…

* * *

_Alice warned me about this_, she thought as Edward sped down the mountain, expertly navigating the two lane road as it snaked precariously down from the ski lodge. She wasn't paying attention to the rapidly changing view. She was thinking she should have known that she would not be able to resist him, "Alice said you would do this if I told you."

He chuckled, "I guess it does take a psychic to figure me out," he turned to her and reached out to touch her cheek gently with his fingertips, while maintaining his speed, "she's not always right, you know."

_God, I hope not_. Bella thought, the dire memory of Alice's fatalist predictions stung her vivid memory. "We'll be most inconspicuous if we don't make reservations, just pay cash for our tickets at the airline counter..."

"But traveling overseas without luggage is not inconspicuous, so we remember to take the bags," Edward was justifying his insistence at returning to the mansion before heading to the airport.

"I do have one thing I'm anxious to take with us."

"What's that, love?"

Bella pulled on the chain around her neck and played with the golf ball sized diamond that was attached to it, "Aro's diamond."

"Why?"

"I don't know, there's something about this rock. It has purpose, I don't know what it is, but I have a hunch we should bring it with us. It's good luck."

"I'm not sure about that at all," Edward frowned a suspicious look clouded his face. "It is, after all, a gift from Aro. I've never heard him think about that diamond, except to hear his compliments of it that day, but he's not one to do anything at random."

"I know you're right… maybe we should ship it overseas instead of carrying it?"

"Maybe you should just wear it and call it paste," she was silent, so Edward glanced over at her and continued, "who would believe anyone would wear a diamond that gaudy and huge in public anyway? I seriously doubt any customs agent is going to pull out an eyepiece and examine the facets."

"Call it a crystal and hide it in plain sight?" Bella smiled, "I like that."

"When are you going to tell me what we're doing?"

"We're going to look for the Romanians."

"Vlad and Stefan?" Edward's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"The enemy of my enemy…" Bella muttered, "as long as you insist on going with me, you might as well make yourself useful. I'm hoping you know how to find them."

Edward smiled knowingly over at her, "Well, you know my tracking skills are less than stellar, but of course I can make myself useful. They're quite an interesting couple."

"Tell me, Edward. I need to know as much about them as I can."

"Well there's a lot to tell, they've been around forever. They're both extremely powerful and talented," he leaned toward her slightly for emphasis, "and every bit as power hungry and cruel as the Volturi. They just don't attempt to hide it."

"Talented, really? They never displayed any abilities to us."

"That's true, but then we never actually fought."

"True. So their talents are both offensive?"

"Yes, Vlad is a bleeder. He can turn the skin of a human inside out with a single look. That same look can pull every drop of blood out of a vampire from their orifices… quite gruesome to watch, but not necessarily fatal for the vampire."

Bella tilted her head in the form of a question back at him.

"Yes, well, we heal - but not instantaneously, given the time to recuperate, a vampire can survive such an attack, though I'm certain they would never forget it, making one very hesitant to ever cross Vlad again."

Bella nodded, "hmm." She was gaining an even healthier respect for the Ancient Ones they were seeking.

Edward continued, "Stefan is a torch. He can cause anything, human, vampire or otherwise to spontaneously combust."

"A match made in hell, the perfect execution squad."

"Yes, explaining why, in their time, they were never questioned and always revered by our kind as well as humans. Until…"

"Until?" Bella prompted.

"Well, I'm not certain of the details, but I caught a glimpse when Vladimir mentioned that Alec owed him many lives at the…confrontation. Aro's acquisition of the twins ultimately caused the shift in power. It wasn't long after that the Volturi made their move against the Romanians and won their bid for power. Aro played his cards close to his chest, the Romanians had no idea what the twins could do and when they found out, it was too late. They were incapacitated as the formidable army they had amassed was slaughtered helplessly on the battlefield. Even they're not sure how they managed to survive."

"No wonder. We have much to learn from these two, I'm hoping when they find out our purpose, they'll be more than willing to help."

"So, love, what exactly is our purpose?"

"You already know."

"I do?"

"Of course you do. Why else would I risk our wonderful, perfect lives, except for the lives of our family?"

Edward's eyebrows knitted into a serious frown as he turned away from her, focusing on the mountain road, "Perhaps I only want to hear you say it."

"I suppose if Aro gets his paws on you now, it's all over anyway, so there's no point in keeping it from you," Bella sighed as she leaned over, touching his face with her fingertips, gently tracing the line of his cheekbone, "Our purpose is to take down the Volturi, of course."

* * *

**A/N**: OK Folks, you know what to do! Please use the "**Review this Chapter**" button below. Thank you for reading!


	3. Choices

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**Choices**

"Pleeeeze, Jake?" Renesmee danced in front of him clasping both palms together as though in prayer, "I'm so bored, I think I'll go nutty if we don't."

"OK, fine. We'll go to Seattle tomorrow, just for the day…" Jacob smirked, "if and only if, you absolutely _promise_ to stay by my side at all times _and_ you hunt with me this afternoon. I don't want a hungry half vampire tempted by all those bloody humans by my side.

"Fine, I promise, I promise!" she clapped her hands excitedly; "Can we go to Newton's before we hunt, though? I want some new hiking boots; you could use a new pair yourself."

"What do you need with hiking boots?"

"I saw a pair that looked cute, besides, you need some new boots and I saw the perfect pair for you in the window the other day."

"Sure, sure, we can go shopping first. Let's go get the bike," Jacob stood up from the aged tree trunk he'd been sitting on and clasped her hand. As they walked up the path toward Jacob's house, Nessie felt her cell phone vibrating, when she pulled it from her pocket and looked down at the caller's name, she answered excitedly, "Auntie Alice!"

"Hello Nessie, how's our girl doing?"

"Great! Jake's taking me to Seattle tomorrow; we're going to the festival! I can hardly wait!" Nessie winked at Jacob, "He says 'hi' by the way."

"Say 'hey' back at him for me."

"I will. How are you feeling, Auntie?"

"Better, sweetheart, much better," Alice's tone was unconvincing even over the phone, "Have you heard from your Mom or Dad lately?"

"I'm glad you're better," Renesmee clearly wasn't buying either, "That's very good news, I miss you and everybody so much," she paused. "No, I haven't heard from them, but they said not to expect any calls." Nessie sighed, "They said it was for my own protection."

"Yes, of course. I knew that, it's just that I can't _see_ you or Jake and I wasn't sure…"

"Did you _see_ something, Aunt Alice?"

"No, sweetheart, nothing."

"Would you even tell me if you did?" Nessie's tone took on an air of suspicion.

"Of course I would, Nessie," Alice quipped suddenly sounding much more like herself, "Now you be careful in Seattle tomorrow and stay close to Jake, do what he says, you hear me?"

"I will, give my love to Auntie Rose, Grandpa Carlisle and everyone, OK?"

"Okay, darling, I will. Goodbye and be careful," the phone clicked off.

_Even blind, that woman's got timing_, Jacob thought as he pulled the motorcycle out of the makeshift garage. "Hop on Baby," Jacob said as he swung his leg over the back of the black machine and it roared to life under his hands.

* * *

"What do you think?" Nessie asked Jake as they paused in front of Newman's to check out their window display. "Neat boots, eh?" She pointed to the featured shoes poised prominently in the middle of a myriad of sparkling new hiking equipment.

"Yeah, Baby. They look cool, but those are men's shoes, where are the boots you wanted?"

The bell on the door jingled as they entered the store and headed back to the shoes section on the far wall. "Oh, I'm sure they have something I'll love for me too." She giggled as she looked back at Jacob while she pulled him forward by the hand.

"Ah, I see, said the blind man," Jake muttered to himself.

"Can I help you?"

Startled, Nessie whipped her head around to look up into the eyes of a beautiful tanned man smiling down at her with keen interest, "Oh! Ah, yes, please. I, I didn't see you there."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you, miss."

Jacob bristled slightly and stifled a growl, "Hello, Nahuel."

As if he hadn't noticed his presence until now, Nahuel lifted his eyes to meet Jacob's, "Hello, Jacob."

To Renesmee, time seemed to bend and slow as she tried to force her eyes from Nahuel. The way his chest filled out the plaid shirt that was casually rolled up at the sleeves revealing the strong muscles of his forearms made her throat tighten and her breathing speed up. Clearing her throat she spoke uncertainly, "We, we're looking for new hiking boots…"

Nahuel's dark eyes turned back to her, "yes, of course Miss Renesmee, we have a wonderful selection, right this way." He put his left hand lightly on her back between her shoulder blades and held out his right, graciously showing her the way, like a car salesman or talk show host. Dropping Jake's hand she allowed him to escort her to the back of the store.

Jacob followed them closely, constantly checking his temper, attempting to hide his extreme discomfort in silence.

"Nahuel?" Renesmee spoke as if deep in thought, "Do we know each other?"

"It's been many years, Miss," his voice was velvet.

Nessie's face suddenly lit up as the vague memory of a battlefield came back to her, "Oh! Yes, at my grandfather's house, I remember now. You saved me…you saved us all. How could I possibly have forgotten, I'm so sorry!"

"As I said, it's been many years and you were very young."

"How have you been? How is your Aunt?"

"We've been fine, the same pretty much, thank you for asking, Miss."

"What brings you here, Nahuel? Is your Aunt with you?"

"Ah, no. She prefers to remain at our home."

"Nessie, the shoes…" Jacob stepped up and took her hand again_. I know exactly what brings him here_… he thought sourly.

She turned, looking at him as though she'd forgotten he was there. "Oh! Ah, yeah. Could we get a pair of those hiking boots for Jake here? The ones you have on display in the window?"

"Of course, size?'

"Sixteen and a half triple E." Jacob almost snarled.

Nahuel nodded once and excused himself as he went to look.

"What's wrong with you, Jake?" Nessie hissed him.

"I'll tell you later, baby. Let's just get the darned shoes and get out of here, OK?"

"Fine, but I'll be expecting a full explanation as soon as we're alone."

"_Fine_," Jacob snarled back at her as Nahuel reappeared carrying three boxes.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find a correct size in that style for you, but I did find a Seventeen double E and two other styles in the correct size for you, Jacob, in case you might be interested."

"Thank you, Nahuel," Nessie offered, glaring at Jake.

Nahuel indicated a seat to Jacob and politely assisted him with the fit while Renesmee stood watching the two tolerate each other.

"I think I'll take these," Jacob indicated the original style, "I guess I've grown a bit, they feel just fine."

"Excellent," Nahuel said as he wrapped the tissue around the unwanted pair he'd just decided against, "Is there anything I can get for you, Miss Renesmee?" his velvet voice caressed the syllables of her name.

"Ah," she glanced at Jacob who was barely in control of himself, "no, no thank you. Not today."

"Very well then," Nahuel stood up smiling, with the empty box and dumped Jake's old sneakers into it as he headed to the cash register at the front of the store.

Jacob finished lacing up the other boot before standing up and realized Nessie was already paying for the shoes at the cash register. He fairly sprinted to her side, "What are you doing?"

"I'm paying for the boots."

"I can pay for my own boots, thank you very much." He spat as he reached for the wallet from his back pocket.

"No way, this is my idea, my treat." She said as Nahuel handed her the receipt.

Realizing he was too late, Jacob stuffed his wallet back into his pocket and stared at the floor, "_Fine_."

Renesmee turned and lifted his chin with a single finger to smile at him, "Ready?"

"You bet," his spirit somewhat appeased as he grabbed her by her tiny waistline.

"Bye, Nahuel! See ya!" she called back to him, waving gaily.

He nodded and smiled after them.

* * *

"Sooo, _what_ is your problem, Jake?" Nessie stood with her arms folded across her chest and her weight shifted to one foot as she waited for him to prop the motorcycle carefully against a tree.

"I'm hungry, how 'bout you, Baby?" Jacob smiled broadly back at her, trying to evade the question.

"Oh no you don't, you promised me an answer."

"That's an answer."

"You're not getting out of explaining your bad behavior to me, Mister! Besides I need to know if there's something fishy going on. Tell me," she gave him a look that could probably sear raw meat.

"_Fine_,"

"We're back to 'Fine'?"

"He only wants one thing, Nessie."

"What, Nahuel? How could you possibly know what _he_ wants, Jake? I thought he just got here, have you even seen him here before today?"

"No. I haven't seen him since, since the Volturi. But," Jake hesitated, "but it's not hard to know what he's after. He's a _guy_, Nessie."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about. He wants _you_, Baby." Jacob walked over to her and put his arms around her shoulders and hugged her gently to his chest, "I'm so jealous, I could pee green."

"He does? You are?" Nessie pulled back to look Jacob in the eye, "You're sure about this?"

"You hit puberty and a week later, this guy shows up! You think that's a coincidence?" Jacob scoffed, "No way."

"Wow, I'm… flattered, I guess." She leaned back up against his broad chest and nuzzled him comfortingly.

"Promise me you'll stay away from that guy, Nessie. Please!" Jake pulled her even closer to him, "I don't trust him with you."

Renesmee reached her hand up to his face and suddenly images of Aro staring at Nahuel and Nahuel bravely facing him down with the entire Cullen clan behind him flickered in front of Jacob's mind in painstakingly clear detail, "We need to be nice to him, Jake. He's our friend and he saved us all, once. We might not be here now, if it weren't for Nahuel, you know that."

"I don't _know_ anything of the _sort_," Jacob snorted, "Things could have gone a lot of different ways on the field that day."

"Well, I'm here with you now, aren't I?" Nessie smiled up at him, her face only inches away from his.

Jacob felt himself melting, his eyes were falling into the dark brown liquid depths of hers and slowly, so slowly he didn't know it was happening, his lips fell onto hers, gently teasing her response. He softly pushed her lips apart and dove into her mouth, brushing her tongue with his. A moan of pure pleasure escaped from the back of his throat as he gathered her body tightly against himself.

Her response was frighteningly provocative. She was giving herself over to him freely, not thinking only feeling. He felt himself responding to her, going over the edge of reason. …_you, of all people, know the importance of having special medical options in place before you consummate your relationship… NO!_ Quickly, gathering all his strength, he pushed away from her entirely. "No, Baby, stop, we _have_ to stop," he gasped.

Renesmee was breathing just as hard, hands on her knees as she bent over them trying to recover herself, "What? Jake…?"

"I love you Nessie, with all my heart, you know I do. I'm all yours, no matter what happens, you know that, right?"

"You do? I do?" she was still breathing hard.

Jake pulled a shiny silver object from his jeans pocket, but the sun sparkled off the diamond chip set low inside the metal ring, "I promise to love you forever baby, and I want to marry you when you're ready," he slid the ring onto her third finger, left hand, "If you'll have me."

Renesmee stared down at the ring on her finger, it slid around just slightly large but not enough to matter. "Oh Jacob!" she sighed, and then threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard against his lips.

He kept his mouth closed this time, but his lips spread across his teeth in a wide grin as he twirled her around and then lifted her up over his head by her waist, smiling up at her with the joy of requited love stirring in his breast. Gently he put her down at arm's length and cautiously put up one finger to stay her approach as he slowly backed away. "OK, now just stand right there and don't move, I have to go change and then we need to hunt, remember?"

Nessie clasped her hands behind her back, the picture of innocence and nodded smiling back at him, seeming almost to glow.

Only a few seconds passed before the giant russet wolf came out of the brush, with a bundle of clothes in his mouth that he handed over to her. She walked over to the motorcycle and stuffed the bundle into the leather saddle back and turned back to Jacob.

"Ready?" she grinned, and then she took off at a blinding speed, headed for the scent of the elk herd gathered at the banks of a nearby stream, the wolf kept a steady pace at her side.

* * *

"What was Alice ever thinking?" Bella mumbled as Edward expertly negotiated the tangle of traffic in the crowded streets of Bucharest with their rented Mercedes.

"I don't know love, what are you referring to?" he asked, smiling to himself as he listened to the voices assaulting him from all directions in the city.

"I can't even read a simple street sign here, much less find a couple of Ancient Vampires who've lived and hunted these roads for thousands of years," she sighed, "I never would have gotten very far without you, Edward."

"My point exactly love," he said as he reached over to stroke her cheek lightly.

"So where do we start?"

"Well, without an address or contact number, I figured the image I saw was fairly rural, so I thought we'd take a ride around the outskirts of the city for starters, just take the city bypass. I'll be listening for their voice(s) and if you could help me check for any trace of their scent…perhaps we'll get lucky."

"Too bad this isn't a convertible."

Edward chuckled, "rolling all the windows down will have to do for this pass anyway."

They made a complete circle of the city on the bypass without any signs of the ancients and then took a rural route deeper into the outskirts, still without any luck. Edward decided to do spokes on rural roads after filling the Mercedes with gas again.

They were on their third attempt driving north from the city on Route 1 just southeast of Snagov Forest when Bella held up her finger. "Do you recognize that?"

Edward let up on the gas pedal slightly, his head cocked to one side as if listening intently. "Yes, I think I do, love!" He pushed the Mercedes faster down the gravel road and then took a fork to the right. Snow dusted everything lightly in the dark, contrasting shapes even more sharply than usual in the night. "I _hear_ them."

"Do they hear us?"

"Not yet."

"What are they doing?"

"I can only see Vladimir, he's reading a newspaper. Stefan is watching him, thinking about the little orphan girl he had for dinner earlier. She was sweet, he liked her."

"Great." Bella rolled her eyes.

"They're both inside," Edward cocked his head, "there's a domestic, no…two domestics, humans. I think they're a married couple living on the estate not far from the main residence. They're sleeping right now."

"Somebody's got to mow the lawn…" Bella sneered.

"Ah, Vlad hears the Mercedes…now so does Stefan," Edward stopped the car, "Bella, the estate is just up ahead. There's a gate, they're actually terrified… I think it would be best if you go on foot, quickly now and jump the gate. Stand outside and announce yourself, don't approach the door, go!"

Bella ran into the cool of the night and easily cleared the high iron gate, when she got within sight of the estate she stopped. The three story building curved gracefully around the circular drive in the front making an exterior half circle. There were many windows all with shutters, but none with balconies or flower boxes. The front door was small in comparison to many she'd seen in similar sized buildings, but the architecture here was obviously from a different era. She walked to the middle of the circle and in a clear but subdued speaking voice she said, "Hello. I am Bella Cullen from the United States here to see my good friends Vladimir and Stefan."

From the Mercedes, Edward watched as Stefan opened the front door and saw Bella, standing in the night, perfect and pale and beautiful in her furs as the snow fell lightly around her.

"Mrs. Cullen, what a surprise to see you here," Stefan answered as he came cautiously towards her, seeming to drift slightly above the ground, Vladimir was behind him, seeking all directions in the dark for an attacker.

"My husband, Edward sits in the automobile you hear idling just up the road. He's waiting for your permission to approach your gates."

"Certainly, if you come in friendship – he is welcome as are you, my dear. Have you brought your extraordinary daughter with you as well?"

"No, she stays home with the family to attend to her studies."

"Is this a social visit?" Stefan asked skeptically.

"No. Not really."

Vlad now looked at her directly. "What is your purpose?"

"We seek your help once again, against our mutual enemy."

"I _told_ you," Vlad hissed softly to Stefan. "Let us greet your husband at the gate, then we'll ride back to the house together. It seems we have much to discuss."

* * *

"Does your maker know you are here, boy?" Vlad asked in a demanding tone as Edward stood before the fireplace in the room where he'd first _seen_ them both lounging.

"Yes."

"Why doesn't he come to your aid?" Stefan asked.

"Only you have the knowledge we seek."

"Still," Vlad pressed, "Is not the protection of the coven more his responsibility than yours?" _Why does he send a boy to do a man's job, I wonder._

"Do not wonder, ancient one. I will answer all your questions, if you have any once my mate has told you our story."

Their eyes turned to Bella, who stood gracefully still before them. Smiling shyly back at them, her eyes turned to Edward for courage.

"Speak now, child. We will know what this is all about," the impatience in Vladimir's tone was evident.

"You were both there that day, on the field of battle when the Volturi turned away from my family and refused to fight. You know they came to destroy my daughter and to acquire my husband and his sister for their ranks." Bella's voice was soft and clear and mesmerizing as she continued, "You also know their main offensive weapons were rendered useless by the shield I projected."

"We remember," Stefan offered when Bella hesitated.

"What you do not know, is that this was not the first time Aro and I had met."

Vladimir's eyebrow raised in surprise and Stefan was statuesque.

"Aro knew me in my human incarnation and he knew that his powers could not penetrate my shield then. It was Aro who demanded that I be made immortal." Bella cast a loving glance at Edward, "But I was already in love with my mate, and he with me. I wanted this change, even though he did not and he fought this decision until my near death during the birth of our child, whom you have met.

"You know that Edward can read minds and intentions, as he is reading yours even as I speak, there is no lying to Edward." Bella paused briefly to watch as Stefan exchanged a wary glance with Vladimir, "Aro also could not hide his thoughts from him and during this battle, Edward saw that Aro wanted his talents and his sister's talents more than he wanted to dispense justice. But Edward also saw Aro's desires change as he witnessed the power that he had decreed should be created in me. He saw that above all else, Aro wanted my shield and determined that day he would have me or he would have my ashes.

"For more than six years since that day, we have lived in peace, which is all that we desire. Edward and I moved our small family to the East Coast to study at the university there. But six weeks ago, our sister, Alice became ill. Carlisle and Edward worked day and night to discover what was ailing her, but despite their efforts, she still declined in health until she came to us. Once under the protection of my shield, she recovered instantly and was able to tell us she was being attacked by the Italians.

"She also told me one of the reasons she was being assaulted was an attempt to locate me and that as long as I protected her, the rest of my family was endangered. So, we sent Alice away and we came to you for help to end this most recent attack on our family."

"What help do you seek from us, child, that your very talented family and friends cannot already provide for you?" Stefan asked.

"Knowledge. We need to know all you can tell us of the Volturi and most specifically of Chelsea."

_Chelsea? _Vladimir stuttered in his thoughts_, Could they know?_

_These two are well informed…and if we help… tell them, tell them all we know, what exactly will they do with this information? They've certainly disappointed us in the past._ Stefan thought coolly.

"With your help, we plan to remove Aro's power to unite the Volturi." Edward answered.

_Anything that weakens the Volturi is a good thing, but I wonder how we can convince these young ones to do more than that…_Vladimir thought more purposefully toward Edward.

"We are not interested in power, we wish only to live our lives in peace, free of the injustice Aro's Volturi are now dispensing throughout our world."

"You said that _one_ of the reasons the Volturi were attacking your sister was to find you…What are the other reasons?" Stefan asked Bella.

"They are testing the power of a new talent Aro has only recently acquired. A vampire named Peridot, who has the mental capacity to block many other talents whose power is focused in the mind," Bella looked anxiously at Edward, "Peridot himself is innocent, our sister told us that Chelsea's power enslaves him to serve at Aro's will."

As Bella looked to Edward, so did Stefan and Vlad to see if he wanted her to continue. He gave her a nod that was almost imperceptible, but that did not go unnoticed in the present company.

"Also…" Bella hesitated as Stefan and Vladimir turned their attention back to her, "he wanted to hide his decision to visit Amun's Coven for the purpose of 'recruiting' our friend Benjamin, the earth mover you met at my family's home."

_Aro is aware of what this boy knows, then._ Vlad thought.

Edward confirmed his thought with a look and a positive nod, "Yes, he does. The pause you saw on the battlefield that day when Aro took my hand, was not the one-way transfer of information the Volturi are used to seeing, it was a two-way exchange."

"So that's the reason for Aro's comment." Stefan mumbled as he remembered the words even as Edward heard him repeat them to himself, _I doubt no two between men or Gods have ever seen quite so clearly._

"Yes, he knew that I received much more information than he had intended, once his own curiosity was satisfied that day," Edward continued, "I learned then not only what he learned from me, but much of what he knew of the others."

Stefan shifted nervously and glanced meaningfully at Vladimir.

Edward turned slowly to look directly into Vladimir's eyes, "for instance, I know that Chelsea was once your wife, Vladimir."

* * *

**A/N**: OK Folks, you know what to do! Please use the "**Review this Chapter**" button below. Thank you for reading!


	4. Rivals

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**Rivals**

Alice sat alone on the couch, her ruby red eyes gazing sightlessly into space. She was slipping in and out of the future which often included the blocking vision that made her sick to her stomach.

Rosalie stood stiffly flipping silently through the TV channels. Esme stared out the windows into the forest across the snow, searching for any sign of Carlisle and the boys. They were all fairly stressed, and motionless, but Esme was especially so.

"They'll be back soon, they're all fine, Esme," Alice murmured to her encouragingly.

"Thank you, dear," she sighed, still vigilant.

Tanya walked silently into the spacious living room of the townhouse and glided across the cream colored carpeting past Rosalie, still flipping channels. The striking strawberry blonde sat down on the couch next to Alice and handed her a warm cup of blood, "Is there anything else I can do for you, darling?" the slight Russian accent was always a little more pronounced whenever she was trying nurture anyone.

Alice smiled weakly, "No, thank you; I'm afraid not, Tanya, unless you can snap your fingers and disband the Volturi from here?"

"Have you heard from Edward at all?"

"No, but I did _see_ them driving around a city, the street signs looked Russian, I think. It was only a glimpse…"

"I do hope Edward knows what he's doing," Tanya murmured.

"We're actually the more vulnerable ones, without Bella here to protect us, Demetri can find us whenever Aro wants," Rosalie said in a hollow voice.

"He won't though," Tanya brushed a lock of hair from Alice's face, "he has no reason to come here. A visible attack on us now would raise too many red flags and he knows it. He's very fond of his white hat, and Carlisle's right, like any bully, he's a coward. He's going to keep up appearances at all costs; which means, you should all stop worrying."

"They're back," Alice whispered hoarsely.

Esme glimpsed a reflection off Carlisle's watch as it sparkled in her direction through the trees and then there they were; all three of them gliding across the snow towards her. She seemed to melt as she moved to open the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the balcony. Suddenly Carlisle was next to her, holding her tenderly, soothing the worried lines from her gorgeous face.

"There's nothing out there sweetheart. Its all clear," Carlisle whispered, his eyes were a light golden hue from the meal.

Emmett had Rosalie in a bear hug, the TV remote lay forgotten on the chair where it fell. Jasper was sitting on Alice's other side, pulling her into a reclining position against him. "Try to relax, darlin', I'm here now," Jasper crooned softly as Alice nodded her head against his chest.

* * *

Renesmee wrinkled her nose at the hotdog she held in her hand, "It stinks."

Jacob chuckled at her, "It's a hot dog, you're not American if you've never eaten a hot dog!"

"Maybe I should try some of that blue cotton candy instead…" Nessie pointed to a booth where the vendor was wrapping wisps of sugary blue stuff around a paper cone for a little girl whose father was holding her hand.

Jacob tweaked her nose, "Maybe you should eat your hot dog first and then see if you have enough of an appetite for anything else."

The cloudless sky allowed the sun to warm the air, making it feel more like May than February. The light seemed to sparkle off the water making everything look magical. Jacob was happier than he could ever have imagined and enjoying himself more than he had for weeks. He was overwhelmed with the joy that Nessie had given him when she'd agreed to wear his promise ring. "What do you say we take a ride on that Ferris wheel? I bet the view is great from up there."

"Isn't that an old people's ride? Wouldn't you rather take a ride on the Zipper or the Whip?" Nessie took a bite of the hotdog and stuffed it into her cheek, making her look a little bit like a chip monk.

Jacob couldn't stifle his laughter, "Well, I think it would be difficult, if not impossible to steal a kiss while riding the Zipper or the Whip," he moved his eyebrows up and down rapidly, making her laugh, "Besides, I don't even want to think about cleaning your hot dog up after a ride on the Zipper."

"Ewwww," Nessie reached her hand up to Jacob's neck, images of him fulfilling her most outlandish wishes, played rapidly through his head, every time she'd ever asked him for something, and every time he'd said 'yes'. Clearly their relationship had changed; Nessie was telling him that she noticed the difference.

"You're not a little girl, Nessie," Jacob said soberly. "You don't need a nanny anymore."

"Doth that mean I don' haf ta eath my hoth dog?" she said, speaking around the lump of food in her cheek.

"No, it means I shouldn't have to make you eat it," Jacob smiled down at her, "Chew with your mouth closed, please." Renesmee made a show of moving the lump of food around in her mouth, for a little while, and Jacob laughed at her out loud when she made a huge gulping noise, finally swallowing the food. "You are unbelievably beautiful, do you know that?"

"That's because you're the judge and I'm the only contestant," she winked back at him, taking another bite of food.

"No, I don't think that's it," Jacob protested, "I'll be right back, I have to see a man about a dog…" he nodded towards the men's room and Renesmee giggled. Kissing her forehead lightly he trotted off happily.

As soon as was he out of sight, Nessie tossed the remains of her hot dog into the trash can.

"That seems wasteful," a velvet voice sounded uncomfortably close in her ear.

Nessie gasped at Nahuel's closeness, but recovered herself quickly, "I'll let you retrieve it, if you like…" she quipped.

"No thanks," he smiled at her little retort.

"What are you doing here, Nahuel?"

"The same as everyone else, enjoying the weather. And you?" he looked quizzically.

"Battling cabin fever, I suppose,"

Nahuel raised his eyebrows, "So, is it working for you?"

She ceremoniously took a deep breath through her nose, "It _is_ a beautiful day."

Nahuel reached out gently for her left hand and held up the promise ring for them both to examine, "Isn't this new?"

Nessie blushed, "Yes, just yesterday."

"Any special meaning?" Nahuel caressed her hand gently with both of his while turning the diamond chip to flash the sunlight in different directions.

"It's a promise ring," she was instantly confused and distracted by the sensation of his touch.

"What did you promise, exactly?" Nahuel smiled at her kindly, but wouldn't allow her to increase the distance between them, subtly keeping step with her at each attempt.

"Jacob and I are… dating. Exclusively,"

"This was his idea, yes?" he asked as he raised her hand closer and sniffed her wrist.

Renesmee looked up into his beautiful face and saw desire in his eyes for the first time, understanding what Jacob had meant. "I agreed…" her voice wavered.

"That's too bad," he whispered, he leaned toward her until his breath brushed her ear, "don't you think it's a bit too soon to relinquish all your options, without even a second glance?"

Nessie's heart started beating faster and her breath was becoming coarser, and despite herself, she was losing the battle Nahuel's eyes were waging on her.

"Hello," Jacob's voice was like a bucket of ice water that snapped her out of Nahuel's illusion.

Nessie cleared her throat, "Look who's here, Jake."

"Yeah, I noticed," Jake said as he pushed himself between them and gathered Nessie to himself by the waist.

"Having a good time, Nahuel?" Jake's voice and his stare could have cut ice in the frozen tundra.

"I'm working on it, Jacob," Nahuel smiled, but his eyes never left Renesmee's. The testosterone in the atmosphere surrounding them was almost tangible.

"I bet you are. But I think it would be wiser of you to go work on it somewhere else," Jake insisted brooking no further argument.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to…" Nahuel hesitated, smiling at Renesmee, "inconvenience either of you. It's just that I'm new here and I've never seen Seattle before. I had no idea it was such a delightful city. Everything I'd heard was that it rained here constantly. Obviously," He glanced skyward swiftly for effect, "that's not entirely true."

Nessie put her arm around Jacob's waist before she spoke, "We shouldn't be inhospitable, Jake. Maybe we could show Nahuel around a bit?"

Jake's head whipped around to stare down at her in disbelief, "You're kidding, right?"

"No," she frowned back at him, "I'm not. I think we could spare a little of our time for Nahuel, who traveled thousands of miles to risk his own life to save our miserable hides once upon a time…" she ended this last with her teeth clenched.

"Okay, when you put it like that, I suppose we could," Jake agreed reluctantly.

"Great!" Nahuel smiled widely sounding suddenly overtly enthusiastic, "Why don't we take a ride on the Ferris Wheel and you could both point out the highlights of the city from the top?"

"Fine," Jacob glowered at him over Nessie's head, Nahuel smiled as they headed for the ticket booth.

_

* * *

__I've turned people inside out for speaking her name, in my presence, boy_. Vlad thought quickly.

"I mean no disrespect." Edward said softly, giving a slight nod in a manner of respect.

Bella stood, stark still with anxiety, well aware they both stood defenseless in the presence of the perfect vampire execution squad.

"What, exactly do you plan to do with Chelsea?" Stefan asked, looking at Edward and then to Bella, the question clear on his face.

"We only want to stop her. We were hoping you would tell us what that will require," Bella began.

"If you believed that asking her to stop would do the trick, that's all we'd do, though somehow I don't dare to believe it will be as simple as that," Edward added.

_First of all, you have to find her to confront her. That will be the most difficult chore._ Vlad thought silently to himself, but of course, Edward picked up on it.

"We have reason to believe Aro and Caius are taking the twins and a small contingent to Alexandria next week. With them gone, will she stay in Volterra do you think?"

"There's no telling _what_ she'll do while they're gone, she's not a prisoner," Vlad spat.

Bella's voice came softly, gently, "Vladimir, I know this will be difficult for you, and if you can't, of course, we'll understand, but I was really hoping you would tell us… me about her, about what happened?" she hesitated, looking at what she thought must be an expression of pain on Vladimir's face.

The four vampires stood facing each other, all silent and motionless for a very long time. Finally, Vladimir swallowed hard, and with a vacant expression spoke mildly for the first time since Bella had met him, "Please forgive us, my dear, we are unaccustomed to entertaining visitors in our home. As you might imagine, few are brave enough to come calling on us anymore," he indicated Stefan and himself.

"We _can_ be civil, however and we appreciate the opportunity you afford us to offer you the same hospitality your family once extended to us," Stefan added with a smile that seemed to crack his face, "It's late and the sun is almost above the horizon, it is our custom to retire. But please, make yourselves at home. There are a number of empty guest rooms on the second floor, Anya will prepare one for each of you."

Vlad bowed slightly, taking his leave of them, "I will instruct Peter to bring in your luggage and show you around the estate. We do have wild deer as well as a few bears on the grounds; you are welcome to them, if you feel the need to hunt. Good day." Then he and Stefan seemed to simply disappear into thin air.

Suddenly finding themselves alone, Edward and Bella melted and rushed into each other's embrace. Bella was trembling, "I was so frightened for you my love, they could have taken offense at any moment…"

"Shhh, now," Edward whispered so softly he could be certain no one would hear him but her. "The worst is over; Vladimir has already decided to help us. It's going to be fine now," He tightened his embrace on her, resting his cheek atop her head.

Anya's approach was loud and slow, even for a human, but they were still holding each other in this manner when the matronly woman entered the room very shyly. "M' Lord, M'Lady," she said with a very British accent and bowed her head slightly. Bella turned to face her and at that instant her eyes were averted. Anya gasped at the sight of her when she looked up, "Ahh, I will be preparing your rooms, the first two adjacent on the left of the second floor landing. There is a connecting door; I hope you will find them satisfactory. A bathroom is located at each end of the hallway should you require those facilities. My husband Peter waits for you outside, he will give you a tour of the grounds here at the Manor. Should you desire anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask us." With that, she nodded her head slightly and shuffled at a painfully slow pace toward the staircase.

They waited for what seemed to Bella an eternity for her to ascend the stairs, but when she was finally out of sight Edward turned to her, "After you, m'Lady," he teased, gesturing with his hand held out to point the way and keeping his other palm pressed flat against her back.

Bella smiled up at him in relief, "Thank you m'Lord," and accepted his guidance toward the place where she was sure he knew Peter waited for them in terrorized silence.

* * *

That evening, Bella had Anya help her prepare her most elaborate gown. It was black satin, adorned with shiny black beads of onyx sewn in large, graceful, sweeping patterns throughout the fabric of the skirt, but they were very delicately and strategically sewn into the long sleeves and bodice. Human eyes might have missed the subtlety of their beauty, but the contrast in texture and shine was very apparent to Bella. The waist was cinched tightly with an external black lace corset and the full skirt fell to the floor in a wide arc around her. She wore Aro's diamond which was offset dramatically by the black sweetheart neckline of her bodice. She wished Alice were there to help her with her hair and makeup, but she had learned a few tricks from her over the years.

When Edward entered her room in his tuxedo, he gasped at her beauty. Unable to contain himself, he crossed the room at an invisible speed, seeming to materialize before her. Gathering her into his arms, his lips bore down on hers with passion so fierce, the room might have gone up in flames unnoticed.

Slowly she pulled away slightly from his embrace to gaze up into his eyes of liquid gold, and smiled, "You like it!"

He nodded, smiling down at her as he kissed her once more. "That's an understatement," he murmured into her ear. He allowed her to stand on her own for a moment to inspect her, gazing with approval from head to toe, "I'm so glad we brought the trunks!" he laughed. Then his expression took on a more serious air, "I hope you do not provide too much of a distraction."

"We agreed it would be important to gain their favor. All I'm trying to do here is to please them."

"Yes, but we don't want to tease this pair with something they cannot have. They still think like royalty, even though there are no more kingdoms for them to rule. If I didn't know that Vlad was still very much in love with Chelsea and that Stefan doesn't generally care for females, I would be very hesitant to allow you into their presence at all."

Bella narrowed her eyes, "Vladimir is still in _love_ with Chelsea?"

"Yes, well you know what they say… there's a very fine line between love and hate, my sweet Bella," Edward pulled her gently to him again. "I pray we never discover it for ourselves."

"Stefan doesn't care for females?"

Edward hesitated for only a split second, but Bella caught it, "Well, I glimpsed the memory of a woman his father had sent to him going up in flames. It wasn't pretty. Apparently, Vladimir gave up the idea of finding a mate for Stefan many centuries ago."

"His _father_?" Bella stared into Edward's eyes for what seemed like a long time. "There's more, what aren't you telling me?" she narrowed her eyes and tilted her head with suspicion.

Edward stared back smiling, "You are the impossible one, do you know that?"

"Spill."

He sighed, "I think Stefan may be slightly attracted…"

"To you," Bella finished for him as she held his eyes with hers, "He's attracted to you, isn't he?" Edward smiled back at her sheepishly as she continued, "It's _I_ who should be concerned about letting _you_ in their presence, isn't it?"

"Don't be silly, love. I can handle myself," he tapped his forehead, then hugged her tightly to himself once again, "Don't worry, we'll be fine." Kissing her head and then placing her hand in the crook of his elbow, he led her out the door. The moment they appeared on the staircase landing, two pairs of garnet colored eyes watched them descend, measuring their every move.

* * *

Nessie walked up to the window of Newman's, even though she stood staring at the display of hiking equipment, she didn't actually see it. She was lost in her own thoughts, trying to gather up the courage to walk inside the door. _What am I doing here? If Jake knew he would have an absolute cow! I am going to be in so much trouble if I don't get my ass back to the reservation before he finds out… _She might have actually ended up turning around and walking away if the bell on the door hadn't jolted her out of her self induced trance.

"Hello Nessie!" the smooth voice she'd come to know was much too close for comfort.

"Hello, Nahuel," she deliberately continued her gaze at the window, but knew it would be inevitable that she would have to look into those magnetic black eyes of his.

"Have you come to visit me?"

"Hardly, I'm…" Nessie slowly tore her eyes away from the display to point them directly into the line of fire,"…I'm here to find a new pair of hiking boots for myself. I'd intended to get some the last time we were here, but, we… ran out of time." She was suddenly concentrating hard on keeping her balance.

"Of course," he stepped back from her to hold open the door for her, waving his arm in front of himself he continued, "After you, miss."

She walked stiffly past him into the store and headed quickly to the back wall where she knew the rows of shoes were still lined up on the shelves. But Nahuel was instantly beside her, his hand resting lightly on her back, keeping pace with her. "Have you a particular style in mind?" his smooth voice was mesmerizing, but his tone was nothing but polite.

"Actually, no; I'd hoped you might advise me on what was best."

"Certainly," he quickly turned to pull three styles down from the shelves in front of her. "Do any of these appeal to you?" he held out the three shoes for her inspection.

She point to the first one, "I'm not crazy about this one, but the other two look promising, I guess."

"Very well," he returned the shoes to their original positions on the wall, "Size?"

"Um, I'm not actually certain. It changes." She mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"That's fine," he pulled the sizing slide off a hook on the wall, "please, have a seat."

She sat unceremoniously in one of the chairs facing the wall while Nahuel pulled a stool over and squatted down on it. He lifted her foot into his lap, gently removed her sandal and slid a nylon sock which he'd removed from his pocket onto her foot using both hands to caress her as he pulled the sock up and smoothed it to a perfect fit around her toes, soles and ankle. She took a sharp breath in through her nose as the gentle sensation his hands created went through her.

Then, he put her foot down on the metal measure, "Stand up for a moment and put your weight on that foot, if you would please," he said, smiling back at her with an air of innocence. "Looks like seven and a half, I'll be back in a jiffy."

_What am I doing here? I must be out of my mind…_Nessie chastised herself.

Nahuel was already back with four boxes, "I took the liberty of bringing out another boot style, since we don't have your exact size in one of the two styles you prefer." He offered her a peek into the box with the previously unexamined boots.

"Umm, those _do_ look nice."

He removed them and took out another nylon sock, sitting on the stool he performed the same ritual with her other foot and slid it carefully into the new boot. Lacing it up he asked, "How does it feel so far?"

"Fine, I guess." She admitted as she gazed appreciatively at his toned physique. There was no getting around it, this man was gorgeous by any measure of the word. His high cheek bones, the perfect teak colored eyes, the tanned skin, his beautiful long, straight black hair….

"It's hard to tell before you walk in them, though."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, um… I mean yes of course," Nessie yanked her eyes off his body to look down at her feet.

"Let me put the other one on for you." He pulled the mate out of the box and carefully fitted her into it as well. Then, he stood and taking both of her hands from the arm rests of the chair she sat in, pulled her to her feet. "Try them out, see how they walk."

Nessie hesitated from the touch of his hands on hers, feeling slightly confused when he dropped them. She shook herself and turned to walk purposefully down the carpeted aisle. She stood on her toes and pivoted to walk back to the chair looking at the shoes the whole time. "They feel good; I guess I'll take these." She said, smiling as she looked up at Nahuel from underneath her dark lashes.

"Oh, but you mustn't make a decision yet."

"Why not?"

"You haven't tried on the other boots yet. How can you possibly decide when you don't even know what you're turning away from?" his dark eyes mesmerized her, "What if the other boots fit you better?" he continued gazing purposefully into her eyes as he took her hands and guided her back into the chair, "What if you like them even more than these when you try them on?"

"But, if I don't have the time to do that, I won't miss… what I don't know about…"

"Could you do that? Would you not even wonder for a minute what you might have passed up if you had only taken the time to try on those other boots? What if the boots you have on now give you blisters later on?" His mouth grinned down at her, but his eyes were smoldering black, "Life is full of missed opportunities, don't you think it's important to take advantage of the ones you can while they're still available?"

"I suppose I do have a little more time…" Nessie stammered.

He sat down on the stool, gently lifted her foot onto his lap and began slowly unlacing the boots for her. "A very wise decision, miss."

* * *

**A/N**: OK Folks, you know what to do! Please use the "**Review this Chapter**" button below. Thank you for reading!


	5. History

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**History**

"It's so good to see you both looking so well," Vladimir offered as Edward guided Bella into the study.

"We trust you had a good time today, becoming acquainted with our estate?" Stefan added.

"Yes, thank you. You have a beautiful home; you're very kind to offer your hospitality to us." Bella answered.

"You have an outstanding golf course too, Peter was good enough to give me a full tour of it today," Edward said.

"Would you care to play a round?" Stefan asked hopefully.

"Yes, I would enjoy that very much, some other time," Edward said absently as he watched Vlad glide to his favorite wing chair in front of the fireplace.

"Would you care to have a seat, my dear?" Vlad said to Bella, indicating the loveseat that was located next to his chair.

Bella nodded and spreading her skirt carefully sat where she had been directed. "Have you lived here very long?" she asked tentatively.

"No, we bought the manor in 1918; it was a war time special, so to speak..." Vladimir's face cracked a grin that showed no humor.

Bella blanched slightly at the inference, but kept her calm and continued, "I'm hoping you will tell me about your own history as well as Chelsea's."

"Where shall I begin, child?"

"It's probably best to begin at the beginning, if you wouldn't mind?" Edward moved to stand behind the loveseat, his hand resting lightly on Bella's shoulder.

Vladimir crossed his legs, and looked into the fire as he began to speak, "Very well, I was born Vladimir Stefan Wallach Burebista in the year 82 BC by your western reckoning of time. My father spent his life uniting the villages of our land into a country; I spent my mortal life defending it from the Romans. War was a way of life, back then. My father raised me to be a warrior first and a leader second. All I recall of my youth was the constant training; I began to accompany my father on his war campaigns as soon as I was deemed able by my teachers.

"We were at the treaty table; the leader of the village we had just spared was negotiating the terms of their service to our cause when I first saw Chelsea. Her dark beauty took my breath away and her father noticed my interest at once. He tried to hide her from me, but it was too late, she would not allow herself to be taken away. It seems she too, had seen me. The negotiations soon took a very amiable turn once their leader saw what was happening before the eyes of everyone in the hall.

"Our wedding day was a celebration to be remembered by all who were there and by many who weren't. We received countless wedding gifts from all over the known world, but of all the wonderful things we received, one present stood out among them that we came to prize, above all else. A diamond tiara for her and a matching crown for myself. My father had the stones set in a silver colored metal that never tarnished. The crystals had been imported from Egypt by Deceneus, a powerful wizard of my father's court. No one had ever seen jewelry crafted with such magnificent beauty. It was my father's way of handing over his country to us. It was the first time anyone could remember such tremendous power being transferred without bloodshed or even contest. The entire country rejoiced with us.

"My happiness and my father's pride were unmatched from that day to this. We were very much in love; our son was my pride and joy. But in my effort to hold on to the life we had, I lost it all." Vlad's voice trailed off as the memories seemed to overtake him.

Stefan moved swiftly to his father's side, as though for moral support in his grief, but never extended a hand to touch. His closer proximity seemed enough to strengthen Vladimir's resolve.

"Chelsea watched as I fell into the trap of my own making. She tried to warn me, many, many times, I didn't listen. Then, as our son grew and the fighting continued, I had him schooled in the arts of war, as my father had trained me. He was so good at it, so agile, better than me," Vladimir looked up at Stefan with a father's pride, "Chelsea was insane with worry for the both of us."

Vladimir continued, "It was twenty-one years later," his voice gaining strength, "I was waging war against Rome, against the nobles and against some of my own ranks. I was no longer in charge of my own life, the power struggle was everything.

"One night I promised her I would come to her in the bedchamber, on her life, on my life I swore on our love I would come. I couldn't know they would attack that night, instead of going to her, I led the fight. It went on all night, the slaughter. We lost many good men who fought well and died bravely to protect us, to save her life. It was almost dawn and the bodies were stacked up against the stronghold doors, keeping them closed, even in death.

"My son was coming to my side to report when a stray arrow flew over the wall and struck him through the neck, cutting him down in mid-stride before my very eyes. I didn't know Chelsea was behind me on the stairs until I heard her scream as he fell. I held her as she struggled to comfort the corpse, and when she knew I wouldn't allow it, she ran back up the stairs and threw herself off the parapet.

"One of my generals offered aid to me and my family. I was no longer in my right mind, I promised him anything, anything and everything if he could save my son, my wife and me, believing we were beyond any help. He had the men carry their bodies to an empty, lightless chamber below and then, when we were alone with them, he bit me, my wife and son, leaving us to suffer the transformation behind the locked door in the darkness.

"When the pain finally released me, Chelsea was already on her feet, Stefan was soon on his and we realized what we were. We easily removed the chamber door and found the castle had been stripped of all its finery, the money was gone and only death remained in that place. But we were so strong, we decided to rebuild the castle ourselves and remove the stench of death from that place. But, as we worked the townsfolk began to notice the change and the rumors started.

"I decided to let the rumors work for us, I purposefully perpetuated some myths about our kind, some still remain in the local folklore. We preyed on those who had betrayed us, stealing back the bits and pieces of our former life from the possession of those who had no business owning them. It wasn't long before our former possessions were believed to be tainted by evil and bad luck for the owners. Our things started showing up on our doorstep, chalices, jewelry, furniture. No one wanted to own them, most of it was returned to us freely.

"We were beginning our lives again, slowly gaining back our place in the world. Then one night, town came under siege by pagan marauders who stormed into the village, intent on slaughtering the townsfolk. We descended upon them with all our power. It was the first time we fully realized our talents and the townsfolk watched us dispense them in awe and horror.

"The next morning there were alms and offerings on our doorstep. It became an honor to work for us. As the centuries passed, it was only a short step to godhood. Chelsea warned me again, saying to allow their worship was courting disaster, but again, I didn't listen to her. The centuries went by and we sank deeper and deeper into depravity, not only allowing the worship, but believing ourselves, that we were in fact, gods.

"One day at court I was dispensing justice for two knaves who had been accused of stealing a cow from an obviously innocent young maiden. When it was proven the cow belonged to her, the thieves who had claimed otherwise were disposed of and the cow given back to the girl. But when the young girl refused to kneel before us and give proper thanks for the justice that had been afforded her, I became incensed and murdered her in front of the entire court.

"Chelsea was furious with me and divorced me on the spot, saying she'd had enough, that she would never acknowledge me as her husband again and left. I didn't know where she went, for many years I told myself that she would eventually return to us on her own. The days wore on and on, they turned into months, years, decades, still Chelsea didn't return. Our followers grew in strength and numbers and we grew more and more complacent, believing we were invincible.

"That day was much the same as any other. The courtroom was filled with petty disputers and admirers with gifts to court us for our favor, even our guards were there, vigilant as ever. It didn't matter to us when our messengers warned of the approaching invasion. We didn't believe we were vulnerable in any way.

"The guards, hoping for a contest, quickly gathered the army around us, spoiling for a fight. I honestly believed the invaders wouldn't get past the first battalion. I couldn't believe my own eyes when I saw Chelsea lead the Italians into our courtroom. She was beautiful and terrible when she called my name, I stood to greet her. I didn't care how many died, if I could have her back, I would've killed them myself. But, she soon made it clear she had no intention of returning to my side. She came only to lay accusations at our feet. When she was done, Aro came forward all humble and remorseful with Marcus and Caius by his side, I wasn't interested in his words. I spoke, infuriated by their audacity, but before I had barely opened my mouth, Stefan lay writhing in agony at my feet.

"Our army was loyal, but when I called for them to attack, they couldn't move. I turned my eyes upon Marcus, but before I could turn them any further, my sight was lost. The followers who were within earshot of these accusations and believed them were allowed to leave and spread their stories. When our senses returned, the castle was in ruins once again, the army lay dead around us and the nearby villages were burned to the ground. But we were left alive, left to struggle for our own existence, even though we could barely move. The day before, we had been gods, but now we had to hunt for ourselves and even hide from mere humans to avoid attention. The pain of our existence was very nearly intolerable and the only thing that encouraged us in the struggle to survive was our hate."

* * *

"You are not!" Jake spat.

"Am too!" Nessie countered in kind.

"ARE NOT!" Jake yelled back at her.

"What is this? A _prison_?" Nessie yelled back at him.

"NO! This is your future husband trying to protect you from yourself!" Jacob was shaking with anger, his hands were trembling uncontrollably. He backed away reflexively from Renesmee, recognizing the danger in himself.

"Protect me? PROTECT ME?" Nessie yelled in disbelief, "BULL! This isn't about protecting me; this is about you controlling me. If anybody is protecting anything, it's you protecting your turf! I'm going! I don't care _what_ you say."

"If you don't listen to me and do as I say, I'm taking you straight to Charlie's and let him lay down the law to you, young lady."

"FINE!" Renesmee spat back at him, "I bet Charlie would _love_ to see me date other boys!"

Jacob knew she was probably right and it was too much for him, his jealousy finally overcame him and he snapped. Suddenly the russet wolf was snarling at her nose to nose, standing in a shredded pile of fabric. But Renesmee didn't back down, she froze. His anger was so blazing hot that it took a moment for him to realize what had just happened. Seeing his reflection in her eyes, the fear overtook anger and he was examining her closely, looking carefully for any injury she might have sustained. But when he'd satisfied himself that she was untouched, he turned and ran deep into the forest, shame and pain spurring him to run and keep running without looking back.

As soon as he was out of sight, Renesmee collapsed where she had been standing in a pile of misery. How had this whole thing gotten so out of control? The tears were flowing down her cheek, dripping onto her clenched fists that were lying in her lap. She noticed the delicate silver band on her finger, what had she done? Had she agreed to something she shouldn't have? Was this really her fault? She got up and dragged herself towards the house to get dressed in clean clothes. Nahuel would be here soon to pick her up…

* * *

"That was a great movie!" Nahuel exclaimed.

"Yeah, I thought you were going to fall off your chair you were laughing so hard!" Nessie agreed, chuckling.

"But you were even funnier than the movie! I didn't know you were so witty!" he said with outright admiration.

"I thought you were referring to my snort."

He wrinkled his nose in disagreement, "You don't snort."

"Yes I do, when I laugh, I snort."

He reached out for her waist, and pulling her against his side with one hand, as they walked, he tweaked her nose with his other. "OK, maybe a little."

She put her arm around his waist, just to make it easier to walk, she told herself. "Where are we going now?" She asked.

"How about an ice cream?" he asked.

Wrinkling her nose, she asked, "Do we have to?"

"No, of course not. What would you prefer?"

"Umm, I dunno. Maybe a drive up the mountain would be nice. I know a really pretty spot up there where you can almost see Seattle across the sound…" she giggled.

"Wow! That sounds great! Why didn't I think of that myself?" Nahuel enthusiastically ushered her towards his classic convertible Cutlass Oldsmobile. Unlocking her door, he held her hand as she lowered herself into the front passenger's seat, then Nahuel gently closed the heavy metal door behind her. Once in the driver's seat, he turned the ignition and idled the car for a moment as he unlocked the roof from the windshield clasps and began to fold the canvas roof.

"Cool! I've never seen one of these before!" Nessie giggled as she watched the roof lift automatically and then slowly fold itself behind them into the rear dashboard.

Nahuel smiled broadly, obviously pleased at her appreciation. "Yeah, they don't make them like this anymore," Nahuel's expression turned wistful as he murmured, "I think she may be the only one of her kind left."

Nessie turned back to smile back at him, wondering if he was still talking about the car. "How did you find it?"

A cruel grin came across his face as he hesitated, looking steadfastly into her eyes. Then, he leaned over to wrap his arm around her waist and pulled her across the bench seat close to his side. He took a deep breath, inhaling her floral scent reminding him of sunshine and freesia, "I was in the market for a car," he shrugged, "I saw an ad for an estate sale in Iowa. This baby had been sitting in a barn for twenty years..."

Nessie felt a shiver run through her unbidden as his eyes raked her from head to torso, "so you got a good deal on her then?"

"You could say I got her for a steal..." he grinned widely then hugged her tightly and quickly bent to kiss her lightly on the nose. "Now, where exactly are we going, Nessie?" he took his arm back and placed it on the column transmission as he carefully backed out of the parking place.

* * *

They weren't parked for long when Renesmee broke the awkward silence that had fallen since Nahuel had turned off the engine, and realized that she had retreated across the seat to the passenger's side once more. "This is a great car, Nahuel."

"Hmm, I'm not so sure. I'm no mechanic," he instantly regretted the thought.

Renesmee was silent for a moment as she tried to shake the images of her earlier confrontation with Jacob out of her mind.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked tentatively.

"Sure?"

"I notice something is missing…" he pointed to her left hand that was one silver promise ring short, "Did you…?" he raised his eyebrow in a question.

"Break up?" she offered and then hesitated, "Maybe. I dunno. "

He pulled her across the bench seat by the waist once more and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "That would be the best news I've had since I learned of your existence," he murmured into her ear.

Renesmee's head swam for a moment, "What did I tell you about the view? It's stunning up here, isn't it?" she said, desperate to change the subject.

"Yes, you're absolutely right," he whispered against her skin as he allowed his lips to travel down her neck, breathing in her delicate scent, tasting her on his tongue, "Stunning."

Renesmee tilted her head away from him slightly, feeling the touch of his lips send vibrations through her entire body. Then, coiling his arm, Nahuel pulled her gently to himself and pressed their lips together, only for a moment, before he backed away from her looking at her cautiously. Searching her face for a reaction, he touched her cheek with his fingers.

"What exactly is it that you want from me, Nahuel?" Renesmee asked. Suddenly calm and rational as she stared into the depths of his perfectly black eyes.

Swallowing hard, he stared back at her in disbelief, as if she had just turned into another creature he'd never seen before. He opened his mouth, but no words escaped them. Then, his open mouth was on hers, his tongue was diving into her, brushing her rhythmically as he ran his hands through her hair, keeping her close, not allowing her to retreat. He felt her initial response to back away, give in to his desire as she responded. He moaned from the back of his throat as he slipped his hand beneath her blouse and found her bra. She shuddered from his machinations and pulled away slightly, confused by the sensations her body was experiencing. But he gathered her back to himself, pulling her leg roughly across his thigh. His hand stroked her hip, her thigh and then slipped between her legs, rubbing her coarsely through the fabric of her jeans.

She began to pull away again, but he blocked her retreat. She slid her mouth to his ear and whispered, "No, Nahuel." But he continued to rub her and planted his mouth over hers once more. Nessie put both of her hands against his shoulders and pushed harder, "Stop!" she tried to say despite his efforts to silence her. Renesmee started pushing him away with the foot he had slung between his legs, hitting him hard with her hands now balled up into fists, but he was all over her with no sign of relenting. She managed to pull her mouth away and yell, "I said STOP IT NAHUEL!"

She didn't know exactly how it happened, but one second she was pushing at him, fighting him with all her strength and in the next second, he was gone. POOF, just like that and she was kicking at air. Confused and alone, she took a moment to sit up and look around. Blinking in disbelief, Nessie saw a huge russet wolf standing in the moonlight just outside the car door holding a dark, bloody arm in his mouth.

* * *

**A/N**: OK Folks, you know what to do! Please use the "**Review this Chapter**" button below. Thank you for reading!


	6. The Plan

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**The Plan**

Bella shifted in her seat, a habit she'd cultivated in her quest to mimic human behavior. For the first time since she'd met them, a hint of compassion began to stir in her for these two ancient vampires. Cold and ruthless as they might seem, she was beginning to understand what their existence had cost them. But she reminded herself who and what they actually were now, what they had been and had become, to squelch her sympathies. Vladimir's heart wrenching story had moved her, but she still didn't know what she needed to save her family. Bella focused on her goal as she asked, "There must be a way to find Chelsea."

"I'm sure there are a number of ways, but few that would serve your purposes and still keep you at an advantage, my dear." Vladimir observed. "May I suggest that finding her may not be the best way to approach her?"

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, already knowing that answer, but prompting Vlad say it aloud for Bella's sake.

"I mean, perhaps you can draw her to you."

"How?"

"You may have something Chelsea wants, very much."

"What?"

"Did I mention that Deceneus was a wizard from Egypt in my father's court?"

"Yes," Bella answered, "You said that he was the one who crafted the crowns for your wedding gifts."

"Precisely. The crystals were imported from Egypt by Deceneus himself. But the crowns, like everything else disappeared during our transformation, and unlike most of our other possessions, those were never returned."

Edward cleared his throat.

"Your mate is reminding me that he has read my thoughts, and there is no longer any reason for me to keep this secret from you, my dear. Deceneus imbued the imported crystals with a powerful and ancient magic. Each crystal gives the bearer an enhanced quality and the larger the stone, the more dominant this quality would become. The silver tiara and the silver crown each had matching stones of various sizes, with many different qualities, but the dominant stone in the tiara would bestow upon it's wearer the wisdom that surpasses all knowledge, while the dominant stone in the crown would endow it's bearer unmatched power over men."

"Chelsea wants her tiara back?" Bella questioned.

Vladimir smiled indulgently, "Oh yes, if only that were possible."

"So if it's not possible…"

"Well, even though I'm certain the crowns have long ago been unmade, it's been rumored for many centuries that the crystals they once held are still very much in circulation. The last I heard, they were rumored to have been stolen by the British. I didn't really believe it at the time, so I ignored the rumors. By then, I'd already spent too much of my time and energy trying to chase them down without success. I was tired of being disappointed," Vladimir sighed, "Perhaps I should have paid better attention though." He reached over to Bella very slowly and without touching her skin, gently picked up the diamond nestled against her chest and fondled it.

Bella gasped. "You're not suggesting…"

"Oh, I'm not suggesting at all, I'm quite certain. This was once Chelsea's diamond, there's not a doubt."

"I can't believe Aro would give me such a gift."

"Nor can I," Stefan said as he leaned towards them, "I seriously doubt he knew what he was doing, child. It's the only explanation. The Italians are thugs. They dress themselves in white hats and cloak their ignorance in the arts and sciences. They make their way through our world like bulls in a china shop, smashing the beauty as they go through carelessly pursuing their own petty desires."

"So, you're saying that all I really need to do, is to make certain Chelsea knows I have the diamond?"

"Well, yes… but in such a way so that only she is aware of what you have and what you want in exchange for it."

Bella's face lit up as she turned back to Vladimir, "I have another request. Do you own any customized stationery? I need to write a note."

Vlad smiled back at her slyly. "Of course you do."

She stood up to face him and looking at his eyes, slowly bent down to kneel on one knee before him. Once down, she lowered her eyes and her head. "Thank you." Her tone was so sincere, no one could doubt it. She smiled gratefully as she raised her head to look deeply into the ancient garnet eyes that stared back at her from the darkness and despair forged by thousands of years of hopelessness and hate.

Then she placed her hand over the stone on her chest and stood, moving gracefully backwards, her head bowed reverently. She paused briefly before flitting to Edwards' side, then she embraced him in her exultation. The ancients watched their emotional display with expressions that can only be described as envy.

* * *

Esme was brushing her hair in front of the vanity while Carlisle admired her movements from their bed. "You are so beautiful, my love. Have I told you recently how lucky I feel to be your husband?"

She smiled back at him through the reflection of the mirror. "It's always wonderful to hear, though. It helps comfort me that you're here with me, even if…" her smile faded rapidly.

Carlisle was instantly on his feet, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind the bench as he nuzzled her neck, "Shh, shh now. It's going to be fine, you know that Edward and Bella can do this. Alice is doing better… as good as can be expected. She is keeping down enough nourishment to keep her for now."

"But we haven't heard a word from them… not a word."

"You know they have to keep to themselves. We don't know if we're being watched or monitored, they have to be discreet. You know that."

She whimpered nodding and leaning back against him for comfort.

Carlisle felt the cell phone in his hip pocket vibrate, he gave Esme a squeeze before he released her to pull it out and look at it briefly.

"Nessie? How are you Sweetpea?"

"Grampa?" Renesmee's voice wavered tearfully on the cell phone.

"What's wrong, baby?" Carlisle's tone was already worried. Esme stood instantly, speeding to his side quickly picking up on his concern.

"There's been an… an accident. Nahuel is hurt, badly. I'm afraid he might die."

_Nahuel_? Carlisle thought, then his medical training kicked in, overriding all other questions, "Is he conscious?"

"No."

"What are his most apparent injuries?"

"Well, his arm has been amputated, and there's blood everywhere. Grampa, I don't know what to do. We can't take him to the hospital, can we?"

_We_? Carlisle thought just as he heard Jacob's voice in the background.

"Give me the phone, baby. It's gonna be alright, just give me the phone and let me talk to Carlisle, OK? I'll be good, promise, just give me the…"

Carlisle and Esme listened to the scuffling sounds coming through the receiver.

"You JERK! Haven't you done enough?"

"I just need to talk to Carlisle for a minute, baby. I promise to give the phone back to you right after I'm done, OK? Just a few minutes."

"Ugh! Fine!"

"Carlisle?"

"Jacob? What's going on?"

"Our friend, Nahuel here showed up in Forks a few days ago. We've been tolerating each other pretty well until tonight. I was hanging loose, even though he was all hands and tongue. But when he decided not to listen to Nessie after she told him 'no' for like the third time, I decided it was necessary to refresh his listening skills." Jacob walked away from Renesmee, who was cradling Nahuel's unconscious body on the ground, to continue the conversation out of earshot. "This should be fairly easy to fix, though, right? I mean this bloodsucker might not be a full vamp, but he's poison… I mean venomous, right?"

"Can you locate the severed limb?" Esme gripped Carlisle tightly, listening as they spoke.

Jacob looked down at the lifeless arm he was holding, "Oh yeah, no problem."

"That's good, he needs to lick the wound thoroughly, then have someone hold it in place while the venom heals him," Carlisle wound his arm around Esme's shoulders to reassure her.

"That might be a problem."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Well, he's out like a light, and not exactly drooling." _What a wimp_. Jacob thought to himself, "Do we have a deadline for all this licking and healing? Or can we just let him sleep it off on his own?" Jacob's tone was sounding hopeful.

"No deadline exactly, but he's bleeding badly, I assume."

"Yeah, he's a mess, no doubt about that."

"Well, the drier he gets, the longer it's going to take him to heal… and," Carlisle hesitated.

_Maybe I should hold on to this thing for a while_… Jacob prompted, "And?"

"And the thirstier he's going to be when he wakes up."

_Yeah, that could be a problem alright_… "OK, I got ya. How do we get him to wake up?"

"That all depends upon why he's unconscious… Jake."

Jacob sighed heavily, "Yeah, I might've bashed him pretty good against that rock cliff."

"Let me speak with my granddaughter, Jake."

"Sure." Jacob walked back over to Nessie who had Nahuel's head on her lap.

"Grampa, I… his heart is still beating strong, is he going to be alright?" her voice was choked with tears.

"Listen to me sweetheart, he's going to be fine. Jake knows what to do, but you have to wake Nahuel up, he has to be conscious so that he can literally lick his own wounds, OK?"

"But, how do I wake him up?" she sobbed.

"Try standing him up, dousing him with water, smelling salts… anything you can think of. And baby, once he wakes up and heals…"

"Yes, Grampa?"

"You can't be anywhere near him until after he feeds. Jake has to make him hunt vegetarian style, got it? He can't leave him alone for a second. He mustn't allow him to go near you or into any town alone until he's absolutely full, do you understand?"

"Oh, yes sir, I understand completely," her tears were suddenly stayed with apprehension.

"Remember Nessie, he's venomous and very possibly more dangerous to you than he is to any human in his wounded state. Now, I want you to wake him up and make him follow Jake's instructions, OK? As soon as he agrees, you have to get out of there."

"I will," she promised truthfully, aware now of the responsibility they had to the innocent townsfolk of Forks and points beyond.

"Now, let me talk to Jake once more, Nessie. I love you sweetie."

"Love you too, Gramps," she said as she handed the phone back to Jacob.

"Yo."

"She's going to wake him up, once she does, she has to get out of there. Fix him but keep him away from her at all costs until he feeds, it's just a precaution but I explained to her that this was necessary, she understands. Keep the cell phone on you. I'll call you back for a progress report on his condition in a couple of hours."

"Yes sir. Talk to you then." Jacob pocketed Nessie's phone in the khaki shorts.

Nessie was slapping Nahuel's face, it wasn't producing the results she was hoping for, but he enjoyed watching all the same. He chuckled audibly and regretted it instantly when he drew her attention.

"Stop standing there laughing at me and do something useful, like bringing me some cold water or smelling salts or something…" Nessie said.

"I'll go one better," Jake walked over to her and handed her the bloody appendage, "here, he's gonna want this soon." Then picked Nahuel up and slung him over his shoulder. "Come on. Let's get lover boy over to the stream, that water'll wake the dead." He took off running and Nessie followed close behind.

Once they came to the river bank, Jacob pulled the body from over his shoulder and unceremoniously chucked him into the running water.

"JAKE YOU BEAST! I SAW THAT!" Nessie yelled at him from behind.

"Aw, c'mon baby, he deserves a lot worse."

"You go get him at once!"

Jake gave a sigh and then jumped in after Nahuel, who was coughing and sputtering by this time. Pulling him by the waistband of his trousers, Jake brought him up the bank to where Nessie stood with the arm.

"Nahuel, lick this arm all over the wound carefully," Nessie instructed the drenched and confused man who was still coughing, "Jake's going to help mend you, I promise he won't hurt you any more if you behave." Renesmee gave Jacob a searing look. "I'm going to go now, and I'd better see Nahuel whole and back at work tomorrow, or you're going to be missing an important appendage too, do you hear me Jacob Black?"

"You bet, baby. Now get outta here."

Nessie stood up reluctantly, shaking her pointed finger at Jake, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Yeah, I get it. I'll be good, now scat."

Renesmee took a last look at Nahuel who was still licking the grotesque arm wound, and then took off at a blinding speed on foot. Jacob watched her go for a moment and then turned back to Nahuel.

"Did you get over here?" he pointed to a dry looking patch in the wound _'missed a spot' _he sneered to himself. The half vampire took his advice. "OK, that looks good," he said pulling what was left of Nahuel's shirt off, "Stay absolutely still." Jacob took the arm and pressed it firmly against the open shoulder wound.

"GAH!"

"Oh, did that hurt?" Jacob asked sarcastically, "Tsk, tsk. So sorry."

Nahuel glared back at him gritting his teeth, "Having a good time, are you Jacob?" his dark eyes glared back menacingly.

"Oh, nursing you back to perfect health is far from what I would describe as a good time, Nahuel. I've have more fun than this at the dentist. But I must say it's better than watching you assault my fiancé."

"Hmm, fiancé? She showed me a naked ring finger before the so-called assault began, if I remember correctly."

Jake was still holding the arm fast to his shoulder, "Let's get one thing straight, half-Drac, ring or no ring, Nessie is my girl and no one, NO ONE, fails to listen when she says 'NO'. Got it?"

"My mistake, pup."

The phone in Jake's back pocket started vibrating. "Your doctor is calling, do you think you can stay still while your medic confers with the expert concerning your recovery?" Jacob sneered at him.

Nahuel nodded, closing his eyes.

"Jake, what's Nahuel's condition?"

"I have the arm immobile against his shoulder, it looks almost healed."

"Good, let me speak with him."

Jacob held out the phone to Nahuel, "He wants to talk to you."

The wounded vampire reached out with his healthy hand. "Hello, Carlisle."

"Hello, Nahuel. How are you feeling?"

"Wet, a little dizzy. My shoulder is on fire, other than that, I'm just generally ticked off at Jacob."

Carlisle chuckled softly into the receiver, "Sounds like you're on the mend. You would do well to learn the customs of our country a little more thoroughly. Women in our culture are revered as our treasured equals, we protect them and our children above all else. They're not for sport or pleasure, most especially not my granddaughter. You will do well to remember that in the future."

"Yes sir."

"As soon as you regain the feeling in your fingers, I want you to go with Jacob. He's agreed to help you find a meal, but also to make sure you hunt and feed only on animals. You are absolutely forbidden to draw blood from living humans in our territory, do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"You need to heal, but animals only. Try to find carnivores, they're the easiest for non-vegetarians to stomach."

"Yes sir."

"Can you move your fingers yet?"

Nahuel attempted to shoot a bird at Jacob, smiling as he found he could manage it, "Yes sir."

"Nice." Jacob muttered, letting go of his hold on Nahuel's shoulder.

"Fine, I'll check in on you two tomorrow. I don't want to hear about anymore violence involving either one of you, or I will be coming down there myself, and believe me, you don't want that." The phone clicked off.

"C'mon, there's a salt lick a half mile down the mountain." Jacob stood, waiting for Nahuel to get up.

"Fine."

* * *

Edward couldn't contain himself any longer, "Bella, love… I can't let you just waltz into Volterra alone."

"We've been over this twice already, darling," she sighed, watching the beautiful Tuscan landscape fly by the dark tinted window of the Mercedes. She was trying hard not to think about the last time she'd been here.

"I don't care what Alice saw, I can't do it."

"Fine, if our family's future means so little to you, come with me as far as the café in the square. But I go into the reception alone to drop off the note."

"Whatever you say, love. Compromise is a wonderful thing." Edward leaned over and kissed her lightly. "That much I can manage, but don't ask me to hide while the reason for my continued existence is walking through death's door unprotected."

Bella reached out to touch the back of his neck and feel the copper hair rifle through her fingertips, "I'm sorry. I know how you feel. It's difficult." She sighed, resigned to his idea, "we need to do some shopping for supplies."

"I know just the place, Italy's idea of a shopping mall is not far from here." Edward floored the gas pedal and the auto roared down the deserted country road in the moonlight.

* * *

Edward pulled the Mercedes up to the front door of the Villa he'd rented just outside of Florence. Bella thought it looked very formal for the farmhouse he had described to her. They were immediately greeted by two members of the staff. A short, dark man took the car keys from Edward and disappeared with the vehicle while a middle aged woman dressed in a traditional maid's uniform escorted them inside and showed them to the gaming room where Amun was playing Benjamin at billiards.

"Bella, Edward!" Benjamin exclaimed enthusiastically as they entered. He crossed the room in a couple strides to take Edward's hand in one of his, clapping his shoulder warmly with the other. "It's so good to see you both."

"Benjamin!" Edward clapped him on the back and then turned to the billiard table where Amun stood lining up his next shot, "Amun, I'm glad you came."

"What choice did we have?" he said dryly, looking only at the table.

"There's always a choice, old one," Edward said. "When did you arrive?"

"Only a few hours ago."

"Excellent." Edward nodded with approval.

"Hello, Kebi," the exotic vampire nodded to Bella from her seat in the corner. "Where's Tia?" Bella asked.

"She went out back to enjoy the view. She said it was a little stuffy in here," Benjamin chuckled.

"I think I'll go say hello. Good evening, gentlemen," Bella nodded to Amun and then went to explore the rest of the residence.

"You can relax now, old man. The little girl has arrived to hide you from the boogie man," Benjamin spat at Amun.

"As much good as it will do us," Amun said dryly and then made a perfect shot into the corner pocket. He stood to chalk the tip of his pool cue. "She's not staying."

"We have to go, Amun, you know that. None of us will have any peace until Aro is stopped," Edward said. "Besides, we'll only be gone for one afternoon."

"A lot can happen in one afternoon," Amun countered flatly. Benjamin shook his head with a disgusted look on his face as the balls clacked together and Amun made another perfect shot.

* * *

Carlisle sighed, shaking his head as he put the cell phone away, "Never a dull moment, eh love?"

Esme mimicked his motions with a wistful smile on her lips, "Nahuel. I can't believe she's already a woman! We missed most of her childhood, Carlisle. Every time I think of it, I wish we could have gone to New Hampshire with them… now it's too late."

Carlisle gathered her to him gently encompassing her with his arms, "Don't be silly my love. She may be full grown, but she's still our little girl. You know she always will be." He pecked her on the forehead.

"Maybe we should go down there, I mean do you trust Nahuel to behave?" Esme pulled away far enough to look into Carlisle's golden eyes so that she could judge the weight of his answer.

"No, we can't go down there yet. I don't really trust Nahuel, I don't know him well enough, but I do know Jacob. The packs will keep Nahuel in line as far as the local population is concerned, and Jacob will never allow him to over step his bounds with Nessie," Carlisle chuckled darkly, "after tonight I doubt he would ever attempt it again."

"CARLISLE!"

He stepped away from Esme and darted toward Jasper's desperate call, Esme was close behind him.

Alice lay on the sofa moaning, eyes closed tight, hands pressed against her temples roiling in agony. Jasper was motionless with anxiety, standing over her, "It's getting worse and worse." Jasper choked out. "Isn't there anything you can do for her?"

As he completed his sentence, Alice rolled over to the bucket that had been placed on the floor next to the couch by her head and she began to vomit blood. Jasper quickly held her forehead, and gently pushed her hair away from her face as she convulsed.

"Esme, darling. Please go to the kitchen and fetch some ice, cold water, two clean cloths and a large safety pin," Carlisle whispered to her. She disappeared instantly. When Alice's convulsions finally stopped, she collapsed, exhausted into Jasper's hands. Gently, he put her head back on the pillow for her. Esme was back with Carlisle's request.

"Here, Jasper. Wipe her face with this," he handed him a washcloth he'd wrung the cold water out of. As Jasper did that, Carlisle took the ice from Esme and wrapped it into the second cloth, securing it with the pin. "Here, Jasper. Hold this to her forehead and eyes." He handed him the cold compress and took the damp cloth away. "Esme, would you fetch that bible I had on the nightstand for me please?"

"Jasper, I want you to read to Alice and calm her as much as you can. Perhaps if we can get her to concentrate on your voice, we can help her block these damaging images from her mind."

Esme handed the bible to Jasper, and held the cold compress for him to Alice's forehead.

"I'll go warm up some more blood for her. She has to keep trying to eat." Jasper nodded silently, opening the bible while Carlisle took the cup and bloody bucket with him to the kitchen. _Merciful heaven, please grant my son and his mate quick success in their mission and bring them home safely to us... soon!_ Carlisle's forehead wrinkled deeply with the concentration of his prayers.

* * *

Bella passed through a living room that looked more like a personal hotel lobby complete with a wall-sized flat screen and a stone mantel that framed a walk-through fireplace on the opposite wall. The fabrics and colors were all artfully chosen to create a warm and cozy feel for a living space that was enormous. The open wood beamed ceiling was slightly more than two stories high and a wall of sliding glass doors opened onto a terrace that sported a fully stocked outdoor bar and a healthy sized swimming pool.

Bella headed for the sliding glass doors, she could see Tia standing statuesque at the edge of the terrace on the other side of the pool. The long, straight, black hair fell gracefully down the back of the tanned beauty who turned slowly at the sound of her approach. "Bella!"

"Tia! It's so good to see you at last." Bella took both of Tia's hands into hers and swung them wide, "Beautiful as ever, Tia."

"And you also, my dear." Tia's smile faded momentarily, "I'm so sorry we only seem to come together under such stressful circumstances. Will we ever find a time to enjoy each other's company without the threat of greedy old ones coming to steal or destroy our lives?"

Bella nodded sadly, "Let's hope this is the last time we have such a sad reason for our reunion." She reached out for Tia's waist and they held each other close as they looked out over the beautiful rolling hills of the Tuscan farm fields. "I wish Alice were here," she murmured to herself and then turned tentatively toward Tia, "How are you at hair and makeup?"

"Fair, why?" Tia glanced over at her, "It seems to me you don't need any help."

"Thank you. But, I really need to look different, tomorrow. I can't be recognized."

"Oh, I see, of course. Well, I might be able to help."

"Edward and I picked out some wigs and dark glasses along the way. I found some contact lenses, but I don't know if they will really do any good."

"Yes, your eyes will be a give away for sure. Perhaps the dark glasses will be better."

"I thought I'd use both."

"Why don't we go take a look at the things you brought with you?" Tia suggested.

"Oh would you? Thanks, Tia, I am so inept in the makeup department," the relief in Bella's voice was evident. They headed toward the upstairs master suite together.

* * *

Nessie sat on the front steps of the Clearwater's house staring at the new hiking boots she still had on waiting to face the music with Jake. She reached into her pocket and twirled the promise ring around in her fingers. She was telling herself she wasn't worried about Jacob, not one bit. Jake was bigger and badder than any old 150 year old half vampire. He'd proven that to her, hadn't he? So what's the problem?

The problem was that the healed and healthy 150 year old, fifty percent vampire was one hundred percent out of his mind with thirst and Jake had a perfectly good heart pumping lots and lots of blood really loudly. Not to mention that a single venomous bite could quite possibly send him straight to the morgue. 'Do not stop at Go', 'Do not stop to collect $200', go directly to dead.

Shoot, she told herself, don't be such a pessimist, you saw him handle that guy. He's gonna be fine. She heard a rustle and held her breath for a moment. More rustling, she stood up facing the forest in the direction of the sound. She squinted through the drizzle, then, there he was loping toward her in his bare feet and khakis.

Whew, she started breathing again. "Hey." She tried her best to sound casual.

"Hey."

"Thanks."

"What? Oh, yeah. Sure baby."

"Did he give you any problems?"

"Nahuel? Are you kidding? That wuss? No way!" Jake grinned back at her.

"Sooo, I guess… you were right. I should have listened to you."

Jake grinned at her, "Whoa, wait right there one minute, don't move an inch, I got a tape recorder in the house somewhere…" he chuckled, tweaking her nose.

"Is the pack keeping an eye on him?"

"Oh yeah, like a hawk. I doubt he'll be much of a problem though, since he's much bigger on human food than you are."

"Really?"

"Seems like."

Renesmee looked up into his dark eyes, "I had a rough time waiting on you just now." She whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I got to thinking what my life would be like without you, Jacob Black."

He looked down at her and pulled her to him by her waist, "Did you now?"

"Yes, I did. And I have to tell you that I didn't like thinking about it. I realized I've taken you for granted for a very long time, and… my life wouldn't mean much to me anymore without you. Did you know that?" her eyes were tearing up as she smiled up at him.

Jacob cleared his throat, "I guess we'll just have to make certain that doesn't happen then, won't we?" His eyes, black with desire examined hers, the beautiful chocolate depths called to him, shaking loose all self control. He bent to touch his lips to hers. Her hands reached up to frame his face and images of her father and mother, Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, all embracing passionately firmly stuck in his head with a deep longing for him to be closer. His lips parted hers and the feeling of floating with her, swaying together overcame him. Her scent was intoxicating him, he brushed her cheek with his breath as he whispered into her ear, "I love you baby. I love you now, I love you always."

This time it was Nessie who moaned passionately as his breath pulsed in her ear and she lost her balance. Allowing him complete control of her body, she swooned in his arms giving him her full weight. He picked her up easily and carried her inside. No one else was home. He laid her on the couch and sat next to her, his voice hoarse, his breathing heavy, his heart beating faster and faster as he looked at her creamy, pale skin, her stunning beauty.

She reached up behind his neck to pull him down to her, their lips met again and he scooped her shoulders up in a passionate embrace that seemed to set his entire body on fire. The feel of her in his arms was more than he could bear.

When he tried to disentangle himself from her embrace, she whimpered. "What's wrong, Jacob? Don't you want me?"

He snorted, "You're kidding, right?" he looked down at her worried expression and quickly realized she wasn't. "Baby, I've never wanted anyone more in my life… but, we just can't."

"Why? You said you loved me, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"You said you promised to marry me, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then what is the problem here? I want you, Jake… I want you bad, I never want anyone else ever again. I know that now, just you, please?"

"It's not that simple, Nessie. We can't," Jacob withdrew his embrace and turned his back on her. Sitting on the floor by the couch he hugged his knees to himself and hid his face from her.

Renesmee frowned. "It's just like Nahuel said, then, is it?"

"I doubt that seriously!" Jacob spat, instantly annoyed at the mention of his name, jumped to his feet to look down on her angrily.

"Oh yeah?" Renesmee struggled to put a serious challenge in the tone of her voice, "Nahuel told me something that will make you shut your mouth and purr for a month." Nessie said jutting her chin out and staring up at him defiantly from the couch, braced against her elbows.

Jacob scoffed, "Right! I'll take that bet and raise you a week, that you can't surprise me with anything that half-Drac said to you."

"You're on!" Nessie gloated.

"So what did HE say?" Jacob asked, sarcastically.

"He said his nephew is 100% human and his sister had an easy, normal, human pregnancy."

Jacob's mouth fell open as he stared at Renesmee, stunned. Finally, she grinned up at him and reaching out, pulled him down to the couch once more. Her hands found their way up his arms and around the back of his neck as she watched his comprehension grow and the passion in his eyes blossomed again. Jacob knelt down next to the couch on one knee and let his lips meet hers once more. He felt her lips open willingly to him and he responded to her, easily falling into the rhythm of her kiss, this time without the fear.

"I love you, Jacob… only you." Nessie breathed into his ear as his lips found her neck. "I want you Jacob, now. I need you, always and only you."

Jacob moaned deeply from the back of his throat, her scent overwhelmed him bringing him to a state of full arousal.

"Jacob?' Nessie panted as his lips trailed along the delicate curve of her jawline.

"Yeah, baby?" he murmured, intent on the delicate vibrations the sound of her voice caused in that particular location of her throat.

"I have some condoms in the night stand next to my bed…"

Pulling away from her slowly, his gaze seared her with desire as he scooped her up off the couch and raced to the back bedroom with her in his arms.

* * *

**A/N**: OK Folks, you know what to do! Please use the "**Review this Chapter**" button below. Thank you for reading!


	7. Charades

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**Charades**

Edward sat anxiously in the shadows of the Ristorante Etruria Outdoor Café watching Bella's back as she walked across the Palazzo dei Priori and into the street entrance of the Volturi headquarters. The sun was low on the horizon casting long shadows, but they had both dressed cautiously to avoid exposure. Once the door closed behind her, he closed his eyes to concentrate on the voices that would be closest to her direction, looking for any mind that might see Bella as she made her way to the reception area where Gianna was sitting. He was crumbling the biscotti he'd ordered with tea into its individual molecules.

_This place is so old… I wonder when…_

_Look at those lucky tourists stumbling around out there. If we don't get a vacation soon I'm going to…._

_I can't believe how these utility bills have skyrocketed this year, you'd think these monsters would take an interest in…_

_How did she get in here? _Edward stopped breathing; there she was clear as a bell, a sight that could only be seen through a pair of eyes as keen as his own. The short, dirty blonde wig did a great job of concealing her own beautiful hair. _She's probably lost, she's… ah, no, not lost... she's our kind. Hmm, I've never seen her before. Ah, well whatever, I can't take care of everything around here by myself, I have to get to that…. _

Bella was quickly out of sight again.

_Felix is so sweet, I wonder if he'll bring something back for me next time he goes out of town. I hope he remembers…_

"Hello," Bella's voice rang clearly in Edward's mind.

Gianna looked up and gave him a clear view of Bella's new dark sunglasses and green silk scarf, "May I help you?"

"Yes, I wonder if you could make certain this will be delivered to Chelsea Van Buren please?"

Gianna picked up the letter and looked at the exquisitely handwritten name:

**To: Mrs. Chelsea Vivaldi Burebista**

She smiled courteously back at Bella, who saw no sign of recognition in her expression, "Of course, when she asks, may I say from whom it was received, Miss?" She slapped a post-it on the envelope with 'Van Buren' scrawled on it.

Bella smiled at her and turned, leaving without a word.

Edward continued on in Gianna's head, and watched as she shrugged and laid it in a stack of unopened incoming mail behind her desk. _Some of them are so rude, I'm never going to treat humans like that, once I'm immortal. I sure hope they make up their mind soon, I'm not getting any younger and if I start getting wrinkles, I'd rather just die than spend an eternity…_

Edward couldn't stand to listen anymore and Bella was coming across the Plaza toward him. His biscotti was dust.

"How did I do?" She asked, sitting down on the opposite side of Edward's table.

"Just fine, they'll have the video to look at, but I don't think it will do them much good, Tia did an excellent job." He reached for her hand across the table, as he pointed to his nose, indicating the false one Tia had planted on her face. "Gianna, at least didn't give it a second thought. That's good news."

"Do we need to wait then? Or can we just leave?" Bella whispered at an undetectable level for humans.

"Just a little while longer, love. I want to see if they distribute…" Edward's voice trailed off while his eyes stared into space. "Ah, here we…"

_No one gives a damn about my opinion around here. Look at this, what? Have they been saving up all this stuff waiting for me? Doesn't anyone else around here know how to read? Fine, job security, whatever. Wow, fancy schmansy, who?_ Edward caught sight of the ancient stationery, _Oh, yeah… Chelsea, here she is._ He watched as the vampire slid the note into her mail slot. "OK, love. It's in her mail slot, we can go now."

"Great timing, Edward." Bella stood and walked as nonchalantly as she knew how next to Edward. It was strange and uncomfortable to be next to him and yet to not be touching him… how odd, she actually felt off balance. They climbed onto the Bus with a small crowd and waited in silence as the people found their seats.

* * *

Chelsea turned the unopened envelope over and over again in her hands. She slid it back into her coat pocket and headed out into the cold night air. She needed to find some privacy where she could open this thing. That prospect had filled her with dread since she'd read the initials on the stationery. There weren't a lot of people still around who knew her ancient name, and even less who would dare to use it. She'd been Miss Chelsea Van Buren for centuries now.

She shouldn't have gotten irritated with Gianna. What was the point of causing a stir? She didn't want Aro getting curious about her private affairs in any case. She could go back to the Villa, but she didn't want to risk being interrupted, Rualdi was there after all. She needed to find a place she didn't normally go, a place no one would be expecting her to be. A place others of her kind normally didn't frequent. It wasn't long before she was climbing up the stairs to the great cathedral.

Once inside, she reverently genuflected and bowed her head. Then, she took a seat in a pew close to the exit. Chelsea stared at the stationery, VSWB, of course, she lifted the paper to her nose. His scent was very faint but unmistakable. Carefully breaking the seal on the envelope, Chelsea pulled out the folded papers and spreading them carefully on her lap, she gasped as the photo of a necklace popped out at her. She gazed disbelieving, at the photo for a long time, what sort of trickery was this? Finally, she began to read the letter:

_Dear Mrs. Chelsea Burebista;_

_I recently became aware that I am in possession of one your most prized belongings. I would very much like to return it to you. However, I am in need of your assistance in an urgent matter that I am not at liberty to discuss on paper._

_I will await your presence tonight at the Villa Visconti, 84 San Gimignano. Please do come alone, I depend upon your silence and discretion._

_Sincerely;_

_Mrs. Bella Cullen_

Was this some kind of sick joke? Chelsea stared again at the photograph. Could it really be hers? She hadn't dared to hope of ever recovering it. Even if it was the Crystal of Wisdom, how did this child find out about it? There were only two people who could have possibly given her this knowledge.

She stared at the stationery, no, this was no joke. She was after all in possession of the crystal, how else could the young one have known where to look for answers? It was the only explanation that made any sense and yet, why now? What was a Cullen doing here in Italy? Trying to cause problems again?

She stared at the photo, it was hers by rights. After all this time, all these centuries, the crystal had finally found its way back to her. How could she possibly refuse the chance to own it once more? The Volturi are strong, they have nothing to fear from this little girl. There is no reason for me not to go and claim what is rightfully mine… and yet. There is no guarantee she will be alone. The Cullens obviously have very powerful friends. But why would she come here, asking for my help? Why not just go to Aro who obviously had such a soft spot for her?

Chelsea folded the papers back up and replaced them in the envelope. She stood, sliding the envelope back into her coat. There might never be another chance like this to get the diamond back. She couldn't ignore this opportunity. She walked silently out of the church and darted, invisible into the black of night.

* * *

Edward and Bella stood arm in arm, overlooking the hillside by the pool. If not for their colorful clothing, they might have been mistaken for a life size carving from marble. Bella was terrified, Edward was infected with her anxiety, and they'd been immobilized like this for over an hour. They stayed there searching the night for a sound or a scent that would signal her approach. Or worse, for the sound of those Chelsea might have chosen to bring with her. More aware than their companions of the power the Ancient One they'd summoned could wield, their wariness had infected the moods of their house guests.

Amun stayed buried in the Game Room with Kebi while Benjamin and Tia were up in their bedroom suite on the second floor. Edward thought the less they knew, the better it would be for all of them, so they hadn't mentioned exactly who it was they were expecting. Bella had only intimated their guest would be shy and the meeting they'd planned would go better for everyone if they were allowed to handle it by themselves. Of course, it was understood by all that the conversation would not be a private one.

Edward tilted his head the tiniest fraction of an inch, but Bella sensed it.

"What was that?" she asked holding her breath.

"She comes," he answered quietly.

No sooner had he completed the words than a wisp of air floated past them and Chelsea appeared, dark and menacing before them at the poolside.

Her red lips parted in a menacing grin, "You called?"

Edward returned the grin in kind, "Actually, she wrote."

Bella giggled nervously, "So very glad you accepted our invitation."

"Invitation? Looks more like a ransom note to me," Chelsea sneered back.

"Yes, well desperate people do desperate things," Edward added calmly.

"Desperate? What cause have you to be desperate, young ones?" Chelsea looked longingly at the chain around Bella's neck, realizing the prize attached to it was hidden beneath the neckline of her sweater.

"Our family is being attacked – my sister lies helpless as we speak, sickened by the visions sent to her in an unending stream from the Volturi chambers," Edward explained.

"I know of no such attack."

"Perhaps not, but it is being done at Aro's command, all the same."

"Why would Aro commence such an attack now? Has your family breached the law once again, boy?"

"There was no breach!" Edward spat through his teeth.

Bella lay her hand upon his shoulder lightly, "Alice, our sister, in a brief moment of reprieve, was able to tell us that Aro wished to hide his intentions from us. The attack serves more than one purpose, however," she took a deep breath, "Aro is also testing his new recruit, Peridot. Perhaps you've met him?"

Chelsea smiled in understanding, "Why yes, I believe I have. Quite a nice fellow, I thought."

"Yes, our sister thought so too. In fact, she believes he deeply regrets his attack on her."

"Not deeply enough, apparently," Chelsea's expression was smug.

"Apparently," Edward echoed angrily.

Bella frowned, shooting a warning glance at Edward, "No, Alice didn't think so. She told me that he would never act this way of his own accord. She believes it is your influence over him that causes the attack to continue."

"_My_ influence?" Chelsea said sarcastically in an affected tone. "You do me too much credit my dear."

"Not at all. When was the last time you tested your power?"

Chelsea hesitated, frowning.

"We do know that our powers change and grow in time. Escalating, sometimes beyond what we ourselves realize they can accomplish. My sister believes that your influence is now so powerful over the Volturi, they no longer have any choice but to serve Aro."

"Bah. Don't be so naïve, young one. These vampires would be here no matter what I decided, I do not overestimate my worth or my influence."

"On the contrary, Ancient One, we believe you seriously underestimate yourself," Edward added quietly.

"Perhaps. Is this what you would ask of me then?"

"Yes. We ask that you leave the Volturi and cease influencing their members on Aro's behalf."

"And for this, you will return my… necklace?" Chelsea glanced in the direction of Benjamin and Tia's bedroom for the briefest instant. Chelsea's expression turned even darker with anger, as she realized they were being listened to.

"No," Bella said as she watched her intently, "I will return your necklace to you, because it is yours and because you granted us the honor of your presence," Edward moved to undo the clasp on the back of Bella's neck.

Chelsea's expression was immediately confused, "I haven't agreed to your request yet."

"I know," Bella replied.

"Before I relinquish this to you," Edward said slowly, holding out the necklace with both hands, "I have a personal request to make of you, please stay to hear what I have to tell you?"

Chelsea nodded anxiously, her eyes glued to the stone.

Edward moved so blindingly fast, a human would have believed he made the necklace had vanished from his fingers to appear around Chelsea's neck of its own accord. "Vladimir sends his fondest greetings to you."

Chelsea spat and made a move to leave.

"You did promise," Bella said softly.

Chelsea froze. Slowly she returned Edward's gaze once more.

"Aro has been using you for centuries, to amass his little army for the purpose of retaining power over our world. He doesn't care about justice, he doesn't care about peace, he only cares about power. He _wants_ you to believe that you are simply a guide, a suggestion to those whose talents he wants to harness for his own purposes. Whether that was once true or not, Aro is well aware by now that is no longer the case. You, Chelsea, are his real power. Your talent has become far too strong to suggest anymore, it enslaves. Without you, Aro is nothing, and he knows it.

"Bella and I, our entire family, wish only to live our lives together in peace and harmony. The ties we have to each other are based on love and mutual admiration. No one has induced us to care for each other, we simply do," Edward paused poignantly, "…just as Vladimir and Stefan love you still and always will."

Chelsea looked up at him then, and if he hadn't known it was impossible, he would have sworn there were tears gathering in her dark eyes.

"They are lost in the dungeons of their own making. Their anger and hatred has been the only thing to motivate them to survive all these centuries without you, Chelsea. I don't claim to know if it can be done, but if they have any hope of redemption, it lies with you." Edward pulled Bella closer to him tenderly, "Please, for our sake and yours… go home Chelsea." Edward handed her a card with a Romanian address printed on it.

Chelsea took the card from his fingers, gazing at it for a long moment. When she finally looked up her expression had softened. "Your words are true boy… the necklace forces me to acknowledge that." She turned her eyes to Bella, "The Crystal of Wisdom has served you well, child. The magic within the diamond makes it much like a living thing with a will of its own. Having possessed it once, it will never forget you." She reached out to touch Bella's hand with her own; the power was like an electric transfer through their fingertips. "We will always share that now."

She took in a deep breath and then smiled faintly, "Perhaps it is time I visited those guys. They're always getting into more mischief than they can bail themselves out of." Then with a wink, she was gone in a wisp of air.

* * *

Alice sat on the porch step of the great white house in Forks, staring blankly into space, waiting anxiously for Edward and Bella to get home.

"How much longer will they be, Auntie Alice?" Renesmee asked as she leaned against the great russet wolf behind her.

"Not too much longer, sweetheart."

Nessie sighed as the deep rumbling growl of the wolf reminded her of a kitten's purr and relaxed her into a yawn. She held up the shiny silver promise ring on her finger. The diamond chip managed to find a stray sunbeam and reflect it back at her.

"Hey there, darlin'," Jasper said as he came out to sit next to Alice. He smiled at her, exuding a strong wave of calm, love and contentment as he leaned over to kiss her cheek and pulled her closer to himself by her waist.

Alice leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed, "Three more left Aro this morning."

"How many does that make now?" Nessie asked.

"Um, twenty seven, I think, counting Marcus and Chelsea." Alice said.

"I can't believe Marcus left!" Jasper said again for the third time. He, more than any of the others, was having a hard time accepting the dissolution of the Volturi. "Who is going to police our world now, I wonder?"

"Oh it's not that difficult to understand Marcus, he's known about Aro's deceptions for centuries. He just never could do anything about it with Chelsea around and as far as policing our world is concerned, I think we can all take care of ourselves pretty well." Alice lifted her head, "Oh…"

"Are they coming?" Nessie asked.

"Yessss! It's them, it's them! Come on everybody, places, places the conquering heros are coming home!" Alice jumped up enthusiastically pulling Jasper up after her.

Rosalie and Emmett came bounding out of the garage. Carlisle and Esme walked calmly outside, arm in arm. They could all hear the engine of the Volvo now.

"It's running a little rough," Rosalie said.

"Well, let's leave you in long term airport parking for a few years and see how you run, OK?" Emmett laughed at her.

She laughed with him, "I just meant we should probably adjust the timing…"

The car came into view and barely squealed to a stop before Bella bounced out of the passenger's side door and ran up to Nessie, scooping her off her feet and twirling her around in the air, "It's so good to be here with you baby girl!"

"Oh Mama, I'm so glad you're home!" Nessie squealed with delight as she hugged Bella's neck tightly.

Then Edward was out of the car and tossing the Volvo keys to Rosalie. He turned on the great wolf, and giving him what looked like a huge hug he whispered into his ear so closely, no one else would hear, "You'd better stay just as you are for a while, Jake. Give me time to calm down from the sudden urge I've got to _rip your balls off_, got me?"

_Geesh, Edward. Renesmee found out from Nahuel that she isn't in any danger_…Jake snorted nodding his huge head in resignation and laid back down on the porch.

"Good doggie!" Edward said good naturedly as he patted Jake on the head, but faster than anyone noticed he gave the wolf a stinging flick of his finger behind one ear.

_OW! Geesh, it's not like we actually did anything!_ Jacob got up lazily and laid down on the porch.

Then Edward scooped up Alice and lifted her over his head as she giggled gleefully, "Well, you're looking pretty damn good for a sickie! I'd heard a rumor that you weren't feeling well, pixie… but I can see that was just a bunch of horse manure!" Edward said as he set her down and tweaked her nose.

"Welcome home, Edward. I can't tell you how much we've missed you both!" Carlisle clapped him on the back and Esme flanked him as they all walked back into the big white house together.

"Hey, what's wrong with Jake?" Bella asked Nessie as she indicated the wolf, "pleeeze, don't tell me there's a counter attack of some kind?"

Nessie giggled at her, "Aw gee, Mom. It's nothing like that; Jake's just agreed not to talk for a while is all."

"What is that about?" Bella asked in a cautious tone, looking at Edward.

He shook his head then rolled his eyes at her, "Don't ask, dear," he sighed.

* * *

**A/N:** The rest of the story is being published in "Danger at Dusk"... I hope everyone will keep reading!  
A very special thanks to my beta 'Twilight Guru' for all her patience!  
Thanks to all my readers for your support!  
Thank you for reading!  
Please use the **Review Button** below and let me know what you think!


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